Timeless
by jakesgirl1001
Summary: The timeless story of Sam and Jake.  An 18 part story.
1. Chapter 1

**TIMELESS**

**Chapter 1**

Four year old Samantha Forster skipped down to the river. She loved the river and was happy that her mother let her go down to the river whenever she wanted to. Sam had promised never to go in alone and her mother trusted her not to do so.

It was a sunny June day and Sam had just turned four a week before. She was wearing a new pair of shorts and top that she had gotten for that birthday.

Sam stooped down, looking into the river and saw the little frogs as they jumped in to get away from her. She laughed and tried to catch one. She almost fell into the river as she did.

The young boy watched from the shadows. She was so pale compared to him. Her hair in the sun was the color of flames. No, not quite. It was the color of his mahogany bay horse. He looked back at his horse, grazing nearby and then looked back at the little girl. Their hair was almost the exact color. He knew his horse's hair looked brown in the shadows or when the sun wasn't shining. He wondered if the little girl's would be the same way.

He watched as she almost fell into the river. He wondered if she knew how to swim. Luckily, she regained her balance. He was wearing new boots and would have hated to get them wet for a little girl he didn't know.

He knew who she had to be, since he was on River Bend's property, but he had not met her before.

Sam took her shoes off and sat down on the bank to take off her socks. That's when she saw the boy watching her from the shadows.

"Hi," Sam waved.

The boy waved back, reluctantly. Sam tilted her head to look at him. He was a lot darker than she was, his hair looked black as he stood in the shadows. His eyes were large in his round face and he looked to be older than her.

"I'm Sam," she introduced herself.

"What kind of name is Sam for a girl?" he asked with a sniff.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "It's short for Samantha which is a girl's name." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's a mouthful," he concurred. "Maybe Sam is better."

"I'm glad you approve," Sam was sarcastic and he gave her a lopsided grin.

She raised her eyebrows at him and widened her eyes.

"I'm Jake Ely," he told her, prompted by her expression. "I live on the ranch next to yours."

Sam looked towards the distance as if she could see the ranch.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked, closing the distance between them. Sam saw that his hair was black under his black Stetson. He was quite a bit taller than she was.

"Looking at the frogs," Sam looked back at the river.

"You're not afraid of frogs?" Jake asked, surprised.

"No," Sam shook her head. "Should I be?"

"Most girls are," Jake shrugged. "Why don't you go in after them?"

"I'm not allowed in the river alone," Sam explained.

"You're not alone," Jake pointed out.

"I'm not, am I?" Sam smiled and with another look at him, stepped into the river.

Jake sat down and tugged off his new boots and then pulled off his socks. He stood up, took off his black Stetson and rolled up the legs of his jeans and went in next to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sam looked at him and smiled.

"Look at the baby frogs," she pointed.

"Tadpoles," Jake corrected.

"What?"

"Tad. Poles," Jake repeated more slowly. "Baby frogs are called tadpoles."

"Says who?" Sam put her hands on her hips in challenge.

"Anyone who knows anything," Jake gave it right back to her. "Gosh, don't be a brat."

"I'm not a brat."

Jake snorted. "Okay."

Sam looked back into the river.

"That's a big fish," Sam pointed.

Jake looked to where she was pointing. It _was_ a big fish. He wished he had brought his fishing pole.

"Think we can grab him with our bare hands?" Jake asked, almost like a dare.

Sam lunged, surprising him as she splashed headfirst after the fish. Most girls he knew, and granted he didn't know many, were more prissy than to dive headfirst after a fish.

Jake dove after her and tried grabbing the fish in the river. It wasn't long before both of them were soaked and fishless. They both gave up at the same time and stood back up.

Jake started to laugh at how Sam looked like a drowned rat. Her clothes were soaked, her hair dripping as she pushed it back from her face but she was smiling.

"We almost got him," Sam told him.

"Almost," Jake agreed. "Next time maybe we'll get him."

"Next time?" Sam tilted her head at him.

"Sure," Jake shrugged. "You're okay for a girl. Most girls are afraid of getting their hands dirty."

"I don't care about that," Sam said, lifting her chin.

"Yeah, it's obvious," Jake smirked.

Sam balled up her fist and hit him which only made him laugh.

Together they crawled out of the river to sit on the bank. They sat side by side, both putting their faces towards the sun and shutting their eyes.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Jake asked a bit later.

"No," Sam shook her head. "Do you?"

"Five brothers," Jake told her.

"Five?" Sam yelped, opening her eyes to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm the youngest," Jake said.

"How old are you?" Sam asked.

"Almost six," Jake responded. "You're what? Three?"

Sam launched herself at him. Jake laughed as he fell upon his back, fighting her off. She was a wildcat when she lost her temper. He let her think she was winning for a few moments before he rolled her over onto her back and pinned her hands to the ground with his.

"I'm four," Sam spat.

"Excuse _me_," Jake only laughed harder.

She tried to break his hold. Jake gave her a grin which reminded her of one of the barn cats when they laid in the sun. Jake's grin had the same toothless smugness and his eyes squinted just like the old tomcat.

Their faces were inches apart as they struggled. Or rather Sam struggled. Jake just continued to give her that smug grin.

"Say uncle," Jake told her.

"Why?" Sam stopped struggling to ask.

"When you give up, you're supposed to say uncle," Jake said.

"Says who?"

"Everyone who knows anything," Jake's tomcat grin spread further across his face as his eyes squinted even more.

"Let me up," Sam growled.

"What do you say?" Jake smirked.

"Uncle," Sam snapped.

Jake let her up and she hit him with her fist again. Jake chuckled.

"You hit a lot for a girl," Jake told her, earning himself another fist from Sam.

They sat together a while longer before Jake looked up at the sun, which had moved in the sky.

"I need to get home," Jake told her. He started putting on his socks then pulled on his boots. He tugged on his Stetson and settled it just above his eyes.

"Are you walking?" Sam asked.

"Nah, my horse is over there," Jake pointed as he stood up.

"You have a horse?" Sam scrambled to her feet.

"Yeah, don't you?" Jake wondered.

"I have a pony named Sugar," Sam responded.

"A _pony_?" he made it sound like ponies were for sissies.

"I bet my pony can beat your horse," Sam boasted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jake grinned. He'd only known her a few hours but he already recognized that when she crossed her arms like that, she was being stubborn.

"You're on, Brat," Jake told her.

"I am not a brat," Sam stuck out her chin.

"Okay," Jake's grin became a full blown smile. He started walking towards his horse, Sam following him.

"Tagalong," Jake teased.

"I just want to see this horse," Sam said, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Shouldn't you be wearing shoes?" Jake asked. "You might get bitten by a snake."

That stopped Sam in her tracks as she looked around. She ran back to her shoes and put them and her socks on in record time before running back after Jake. He looked down at her but kept walking.

"Oh," Sam breathed upon seeing Jake's horse still grazing where he had left him.

"He'd beat your pony," Jake said.

"He's bigger than Sugar," Sam replied. "What's his name?"

"George," Jake responded.

"Oh, it is not," Sam scoffed, giving him a look.

"Yes it is," Jake told her, picking up one of George's trailing reins.

Sam smooched as she approached the bay. Jake noticed that her hair was indeed the same shade of bay as George. It shone with a fiery red in the sun.

George extended his nose towards Sam and she reached up to touch it. George lowered his head for her and Sam smiled as she touched him.

"He's a great horse," Sam told Jake.

"Yeah," Jake agreed.

"Where's your saddle?" Sam wondered.

"Don't need one," Jake took a handful of George's black mane and swung up onto his back. He looked down at Sam with that tomcat grin she had noticed earlier.

"Bye Samantha," Jake started to turn George towards home.

"Bye Jake," Sam watched as he rode off. She couldn't help the smile. Even though he was a boy, she had enjoyed her afternoon.

Jake looked back once and saw her smile. She wasn't too bad for a girl. Maybe he'd come back again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Samantha Anne Forster!" her mother Louise squealed when Sam came into the house. "What on earth happened? Did you fall in the river?"

"I tried to catch a fish," Sam stated.

"You went in the river alone?" Mom scolded. "You promised never to do that. Wait until your father hears about this!"

"I wasn't alone," Sam told her.

"What?"

"I wasn't alone," Sam repeated. "A boy came by and he jumped in with me."

"What boy?" Mom asked.

"His name is Jake," Sam replied.

"Jake Ely?" Mom wondered.

"Yes," Sam nodded.

"Those boys are a handful," Mom mused. "Their mother told me about some of the stunts they've pulled. Maybe you shouldn't play with this Jake."

"Why?" Sam crossed her arms.

"Don't get stubborn on me, young lady," Mom warned her.

"He was fun," Sam argued.

Mom picked up a lock of Sam's drenched hair. "I bet he was. Now though you better change out of those wet clothes and take a bath."

"Yes, Mama," Sam sighed and Mom couldn't help the smile as she watched her daughter climb the stairs to her room.

Later, Mom mentioned Sam's new friend to Dad during dinner.

"Sam has a new friend," Mom said.

"Oh?" her father Wyatt smiled at his daughter. "What's her name?"

"His," Mom corrected him.

"His?" Dad put down his fork. "Four years old and she has a boyfriend already?" His teasing smile made Sam roll her eyes.

"Seems so," Mom said.

"Who's this boy, Louise?" Sam's grandmother asked.

"Jake Ely," Mom told her.

"Which one is he?" Dad asked.

"There are so many of them," Gram murmured. "It's hard to keep track."

"How old is this boyfriend?" Dad wondered, the teasing smile still on his face.

"He's almost six," Sam answered. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Hmmm," Dad pretended to think about her statement. "He's a boy and your friend, right?"

Sam shrugged, putting a piece of lasagna into her mouth.

"She came home soaking wet," Mom said.

"Be careful in that river, Samantha," Gram warned.

"I am," Sam promised.

"You can't go in it without supervision," Dad reminded her.

"I didn't," Sam said. "I just tried to catch a fish."

"Did Jake have a fishing pole?" Dad asked.

Sam shook her head.

"We jumped in after it," she said proudly.

"You jumped…," Gram's jaw dropped.

Dad laughed. Sam smiled at him.

"Just be careful," Dad told her.

"I will," Sam vowed.

Mom gave Dad a quelling look for encouraging their daughter to jump into rivers. Dad just chuckled.

"A little dirt and water are good for her," Dad said to Mom.

"She's four, Wyatt," Mom reminded him.

"Old enough to have some fun," Dad smiled at Sam who smiled back. "How about we go for a ride later?"

"Can I ride Sugar?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Dad told her.

"Can I ride without a saddle?" Sam wondered.

"No," Mom said.

"Why would you want to ride without a saddle?" Dad asked.

"Jake does," Sam told him.

Dad's, Mom's and Gram's eyes met.

"You're not quite ready for that yet, Samantha," Mom responded.

Sam could see that they were all pretty serious about that, so she just nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sam didn't see Jake again for a couple of weeks. She looked for him at the river's edge, but he was never there. She looked for him while she rode Sugar but she was unable to go very far and never saw him.

Finally one day, she was out riding Sugar and saw a figure riding towards her. She wondered who it might be. It didn't look like an adult. The horse was bigger than Sugar, but not a tall horse.

When they got closer, she saw it was Jake. Sam couldn't help the smile. Jake gave her a tentative smile as he pulled George up next to her.

"Hey, Brat," he greeted her.

"I am not a brat," Sam said between clenched teeth.

"Okay," Jake grinned at her, his white teeth shining in his dark face.

She wondered where he had been for so long.

"My brothers and I went campin'," Jake said out of the blue, startling her.

"How…?" Sam shook her head, wondering how he had known. "Where'd you go camping?"

Jake pointed out towards the Calico Mountains.

"Oh," Sam murmured. "I thought maybe you'd want to try catching that fish."

"I went fishing out there," Jake told her. "We either caught fish or starved."

"Really?" Sam tilted her head at him, trying to determine if he was teasing her.

"Yeah, it's one of the rules when we camp," Jake nodded. "Either catch your own food or you don't eat."

George was getting restless.

"Come on, let's ride for a bit," Jake eased up on the reins and George started moving forward. Sam turned Sugar to ride next to him.

Sam watched as he rode. Even though he rode without a saddle, he never wavered on George's back. Jake was a good rider.

"Do you ever use a saddle?" Sam had to ask.

Jake looked down at her.

"Sometimes," he shrugged. "Once Quinn outgrows his saddle, I'll probably use that one."

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"Quinn's my brother," Jake told her, glancing at her again. "He's a year older than me."

"Oh," Sam murmured.

"Let's jog," Jake let George out a bit more and George moved into a slightly quicker gait. Sam did the same with Sugar.

They soon came to a small lake out on the playa. Jake let George wade in and have a drink. Sam kept Sugar at the water's edge, but let him drink also.

When George was done, Jake rode him out of the lake towards a couple of boulders on the opposite side. Sam followed along the outside of the lake's edge.

They both dismounted and sat on a couple of boulders. Sam took off her boots and socks and dangled her feet in the water.

"Be careful of water moccasins," Jake warned.

"What are those?" Sam wondered.

"Poisonous water snakes," Jake told her.

Sam lifted her feet out of the water with a squeal. Jake started laughing. She gave him a baleful stare.

"There aren't any of those water moc..moc-things are there?" Sam sneered.

"Nope, but watching your face was funny," Jake laughed. "Oh and they're moccasins, not moc-things."

"Mock-a-sin?" Sam pronounced.

"Yep," Jake nodded.

"You were camping for a week?" Sam asked, changing the subject and putting her feet back in the water.

"No," Jake shook his head. "We camped for three days, then went to stay with Grandfather on the reservation for a few days."

"Res…," Sam gave him a questioning look.

"Rez-er-vay-shun," Jake pronounced for her.

"Rez-er-vay-shun," Sam tried out the word. "What is that?"

"Where the whites keep the Indians," Jake told her with a wry grin.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Huh?" Sam was confused. She was white and she didn't keep any Indians at one.

"Indian joke," Jake shrugged. "When the whites came to Nevada they made all the Indians give up their land and they had to go on the reservation."

"That's not fair," Sam responded.

"You need to meet Grandfather," Jake laughed.

"Why?"

"He doesn't think it's very fair either," Jake told her with a shrug.

"Is your ranch on the rez-er…?" Sam asked, stumbling over the word again.

"Rez-er-vay-shun," Jake pronounced again. "No."

"No what?" Sam was confused.

"We don't live on the reservation," Jake answered. "Just Grandfather."

"Oh."

"You're dying to know more, aren't you?" Jake sighed.

Sam nodded.

"Grandfather believes more in the old ways," Jake explained. "Dad does in a way, but not as much."

That really didn't tell Sam much, but she didn't say anything.

"Mom's not Indian," Jake said.

"Oh," Sam responded again. "That's what you are, is Indian?"

"Half," Jake corrected. "None of it really matters to me. It does to Grandfather."

"What are the names of your other brothers?" Sam asked.

"There's Kit, he's thirteen and the oldest," Jake said.

"Kit?"

"His real name is Christopher, but nobody's ever called him that," Jake shrugged. "Not unless you want to get beat up, anyway." He laughed and Sam laughed with him. "He's really good with horses."

"Next is Adam," Jake told her. "He's eleven. Adam's the one who likes campin' the most and always wants to go."

Sam nodded, encouraging him to continue. She couldn't imagine having five siblings.

"Then comes Nate who's nine," Jake glanced out over the lake. "Bryan and Quinn are twins and are seven."

"Twins?" Sam exclaimed. "That must be cool to have a twin that looks like you."

"They don't look alike," Jake shook his head, looking back at her. "I can't remember the type they are but they don't look alike."

"No?" Sam mused.

"Well they're dark like the rest of us but that's all," Jake said.

"Is it fun having that many brothers?" Sam couldn't imagine that it wouldn't be fun. There would always be someone to play with.

"Sometimes it's fun, but sometimes it's a pain," Jake shrugged. "They get to do all the fun stuff."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Chores," Jake clarified. "They get to work with the horses."

"You don't?"

"Nah, I get the sissy jobs like gathering eggs," Jake complained.

Sam didn't tell him that she gathered eggs every morning.

Jake looked up at the sun.

"I need to get back," he announced.

Sam looked up.

"How do you know?" she wondered.

"Don't ya know that us injuns can tell time by the shadow of the sun?" Jake drawled as he teased her.

Sam wasn't sure if he was teasing, but thought he might be since he had started talking that way. She rolled her eyes. Jake grinned at her.

"Come on, Brat. I'll ride with you until you get home," Jake offered.

"I am _not_ a brat," Sam stamped her foot as she stood up.

"Okay," Jake gave her that tomcat in the sun grin again.

She put on her socks and boots and hurried towards Sugar. Jake waited for her to scramble up on Sugar's back before he swung up onto George.

"How do you do that?" she had to ask.

"Indian," Jake said. "We're born knowing. Don't you watch movies?"

"Oh," Sam gave up ever learning how to do it.

Jake started to laugh.

"Oh, you're lying," Sam said, catching on.

"Had ya goin' though," Jake chuckled.

Together they started towards River Bend and Sam decided she liked Jake and hoped they'd be friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Where are you going, Mama?" Sam asked her mother as she rode into the River Bend yard.

"I'm going for a drive, sweetheart," Mom smiled at her daughter.

Sam looked over at her mom's van.

"Can I go with you?" Sam inquired.

"Not this time," Mom shook her head, picking Sam up off of Sugar and hugging her. Sam burrowed into Mom's shoulder hugging her back.

"I love you, baby," Mom said into her daughter's hair.

"I love you too, Mama," Sam returned.

Mom put her down on the ground and Sam picked up Sugar's reins. Mom waved as she got into her van. Sam waved back and watched as her mom drove out of the yard.

Sam walked Sugar to the barn and started loosening the cinch on her saddle.

"Where'd you go riding today?" Dallas, the ranch foreman asked as he came out of the barn.

"I went to the lake out on the playa," Sam pointed.

"War Drum Flats?" Dallas asked, helping her take the saddle off of Sugar.

"Yes, that's the one," Sam nodded. "I keep forgetting the name."

"That's a pretty far distance," Dallas waited while Sam put Sugar back in the pasture before the two of walked towards the barn together. Dallas carried Sam's saddle.

"I went with Jake Ely," Sam looked up at the foreman, who nodded.

"That's okay then," Dallas said.

"You know Jake?" Sam asked.

They put her tack in the tack room.

"Yep," Dallas nodded. "I know all of the Ely boys. Good kids. A bit on the wild side sometimes, but good kids."

"They have a lot of kids," Sam laughed.

"Six of them," Dallas nodded. "Those boys can ride though."

Sam looked up at him and tilted her head.

"Some of the best riders I've ever seen," Dallas told her. "That Kit wants to do rodeo so he's talked to me about it."

"He's the oldest, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, thirteen or fourteen now I think," Dallas said. "I think Jake's going to be the best horseman though."

"Why?" Sam wondered.

"Kid has good hands," Dallas put his hands out in front of him.

Sam saw how gnarled they were.

"Soft hands," Dallas clarified. "He has a way with horses that even Kit can't match. 'Course, Jake doesn't know that yet, but he'll figure it out I'm sure."

Sam thought about that and pictured Jake riding George in her head. She had thought he was a good rider by the way he sat on George. It was good to hear that Dallas agreed with her.

"You better get in the house," Dallas broke through Sam's thoughts. "Your Gram has dinner waiting for you."

"Okay, thanks Dallas," Sam started to run towards the house.

Dallas watched her go with a smile on his face.

"Samantha Anne slow down," Gram scolded her as she burst into the house. "Where's the fire?"

"Huh?" Sam skidded to a stop. She sniffed.

"It's a saying that means, why the rush?" Gram explained.

"I didn't want to be late for dinner," Sam shrugged.

"Go wash up and then set the table," Gram told her.

"Okay Gram," Sam scooted one of the kitchen chairs to the sink and then stood on top of it to wash her hands with the soap there. Gram handed her a paper towel to dry her hands with after Sam started to wipe them on her jeans.

Sam jumped down from the chair and pushed the chair back to its place at the table with a screech. Gram flinched at the sound.

"Sorry," Sam murmured, going to the drawer and getting out the silverware for the table.

"Something smells good," Dad came into the house a bit later.

"Wash," Gram pointed at the sink and Sam giggled at Dad being treated like a little kid.

"You think that's funny do you?" Dad teased Sam, picking her up and blowing on her neck. Sam giggled harder. Gram smiled at the two of them.

"Where's Louise?" Dad asked Gram.

"She wanted to take a drive to see the wild horses," Gram told him. "I'll save her some dinner for later."

Dad nodded. Louise drove out a lot to look at the wildlife. She was a city girl who had come to love Nevada's great outdoors.

"I wanted to go with Mama," Sam told him as they sat down at the dinner table.

"Maybe next time, Sam," Dad ruffled her hair.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The family was halfway through dinner when there was a knock on the door.

"Lands, who could that be this time of night?" Gram wondered as Dad got up to answer it.

"Hey, Heck," Dad greeted someone.

Sam craned her neck to see who it was.

"Wyatt," the man answered softly. "May I come in?"

"Heck, would you like to join us for dinner?" Gram asked, getting up from the table. "We have plenty."

"No thank you, Grace," the man shook his head.

Sam thought he looked sad. The man met her eyes, then looked away again.

"Sam, go up to your room," Dad told her.

"I'm not done eating," Sam argued.

"Samantha, do as I say," Dad's voice took on a tone she hadn't heard before.

"Do as you're told," Gram tried to smile at Sam but failed.

Sam threw down her napkin and stomped out of the kitchen. They could hear her stomping her feet up the stairs before the door closed on her room.

"It's Louise," Heck told them once Sam was gone. "She got into an accident."

"Is she all right?" Gram put her hand to her chest.

"No Grace, she's not," Heck shook his head. "Wyatt, she didn't make it."

Up in her room, Sam thought she heard a shout out of Dad and wondered again who the man was that had come to their house. Sam went to her door and put her ear to it, hoping to hear what was going on.

She was sure she heard crying, but Dad never cried. Gram's soft sobbing reached her, but it was almost drowned out by the other sounds she heard.

A bit later, Sam was looking at one of her horse picture books when there was a soft knock on her door. A second later, Gram came in. Sam was sure she heard Dad crying in the room he shared with Mom.

"Sam, honey," Gram came towards her and Sam was afraid. She'd never heard Dad cry and Gram looked like something was terribly wrong.

"What's wrong, Gram?" Sam asked.

"Honey, your Mommy had an accident," Gram began.

"What's that?" Sam wondered.

"She got hurt in her car," Gram told her.

Sam started to cry, not really understanding what was going on.

"Where's Mama?" Sam sobbed.

"She's not coming home, honey," Gram put her arm around her.

"Why?"

"She's an angel now in Heaven," Gram hugged her granddaughter while she sobbed. Gram felt the tears in her own eyes as the heartbreaking sobs of Sam tore through her heart.

"Mama, Mama," Sam screamed as she sobbed, breaking Dad's heart as he heard his daughter.

When Sam had cried herself out, Gram gave her a kiss on the cheek and went out of the room to her own. She needed time herself to grieve for her daughter-in-law. Gram felt especially bad for Samantha who would now have to grow up without a mother.

Gram also worried about her son, whose sobs echoed through the house. Gram knew none of them would ever be the same again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sam sat between Dad and Gram at the church. In the front of the church the closed casket held her dead mother. Sam didn't quite understand what death was but she had been told that her mother was never coming back. That made Sam sad.

She looked over her shoulder as the preacher talked and saw Jake a few rows back and across the aisle. His dark brown eyes met hers. Jake's dark face was expressionless as he gazed at her.

Sam looked down the row guessing that the other brown faces must be those of his brothers. They all looked so similar but she couldn't pick out for sure which two were twins.

There was a blond lady sitting with them next to a dark stern looking man who was obviously their father. That couldn't be his mother could it? None of the boys looked anything like her.

"Turn around, Samantha," Gram whispered to her.

Sam sighed and faced forward again.

When the preacher was done, some men picked up the casket and carried it down the aisle towards the back of the church. Gram took her hand and they followed Dad down the aisle behind the casket.

Sam met Jake's eyes again as she passed. He was the only one she really recognized in the church.

They got into the backseat of the car waiting for them outside of the church. Sam sat between Dad and Gram as a strange man drove them, following the big black car which held the casket of her mother.

Sam tried to look out the window as they rode, but she wasn't tall enough.

"Quit fidgeting, Samantha," Gram told her and Sam sighed, but stopped what she was doing.

The car stopped and Dad got out first. Sam slid across the seat and followed him. Dad hadn't talked much or even looked at her much since Mom had died. He spent most of his time in his room. Sam could hear him crying at times. Dallas had taken over much of the work on the ranch.

Sam looked now at Dallas. He was one of the men carrying her mother. Sam stood between Gram and Dad until those men carrying Mom put the casket down on a pedestal. Then Gram told her to sit down and Sam climbed into a chair.

The preacher started talking again and Sam's attention wandered. Jake and his family were across from her and she studied them. There were two of them who seemed the same height. Sam would guess those were the twins, but Jake had been right, they didn't look anything alike.

The blond woman was very small standing next to her husband. She looked up to meet Sam's gaze and gave Sam a sad smile. Sam thought the woman looked like she had been crying a lot.

Finally, the preacher stopped talking and people started coming over to shake Dad's hand and hug Gram. Sam stood between the two of them, feeling slightly out of place and invisible.

Suddenly the blond woman was hugging Gram and telling her how sorry she was. Sam was surprised when the woman knelt down and hugged Sam to her chest. Once she recovered, Sam hugged her back. The woman kissed Sam's cheek before standing up again and hugging Dad.

Jake was in front of her then.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Jake murmured and Sam nodded before he shook Dad's hand and moved on.

Each of his brothers also murmured their sympathy and shook Dad's hand. Sam watched them as they followed the blond woman, who surely was their mother. Sam looked back as the dark man murmured to Gram and then looked down at her. He was so tall! He put one of his large hands on Sam's shoulder before shaking Dad's hand.

Sam watched as he joined the rest of his family. Jake turned around and met Sam's eyes again. Sam wasn't sure what he might be thinking, but his dark brown eyes looked sad.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next few weeks were torture for Sam. Her father seemed to spend the majority of his time locked in his room. She regularly heard him crying. Her father who never cried, seemed to cry all the time now.

Dallas had taken over the everyday running of the ranch. Sam still did her few chores, but she didn't play much. She didn't feel like playing.

One day she came into the kitchen just as Gram was hanging up the phone. Gram turned to smile at Sam.

"That was Mrs. Ely," Gram told her. "How would you like to go to the fair with them?"

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Darton County has a fair every year," Gram explained. "They have horses on display, cattle, chickens and carnival rides."

Sam's eyes lit up and Gram saw it.

"Can I?"

"Yes, of course," Gram smiled and hugged her. "They're going over for the day and Mrs. Ely thought you'd like to go with them."

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"I thought you might," Gram said knowingly. "They'll be here in about ten minutes. Let me get you some spending money for food, rides or anything else you might need."

Gram left the kitchen to go to her room, Sam trailing behind her. Gram picked up her purse and took some money out of her wallet.

"This should do it," Gram told her.

Sam looked down at the ten dollar bill and thought she was rich.

"Make sure you have on comfortable shoes," Gram looked down at Sam's sandals. "You'll be doing a lot of walking."

"I will," Sam nodded as she ran back the way she had come and then up the stairs to her room. She quickly changed into a pair of sneakers then ran back down the stairs again.

"Careful you don't fall and break your neck," Gram warned her.

"I won't," Sam said, her excitement bubbling out of her.

A few minutes later, a large vehicle pulled into the River Bend yard. It was the biggest vehicle Sam had ever seen.

"That's the Elys now," Gram was looking out the window with her.

"They have a big car," Sam remarked.

"With that many in the family, they have to have that van," Gram joked. "Come on."

She led the way out of the house to greet the Elys.

"Hi Maxine," Gram said to Mrs. Ely as she got out of the passenger seat of the vehicle.

"Hi Grace," Mrs. Ely returned. Then she looked at Sam. "Hi Samantha. I'm so glad you could come with us today."

"Hi," Sam felt a bit shy knowing the van was full of people she didn't know very well. She half-hid behind Gram. Mrs. Ely opened the side door to the van and Sam saw all the bodies inside. She couldn't see where she was supposed to sit.

"You boys make room for Samantha," Mrs. Ely told them.

"We're practically sitting on each other's laps now," one of them responded.

Sam backed up a step.

"She can sit back here with me," a voice she didn't recognize stated. "She can't weigh very much."

"Watch her though, she hits," Sam knew that voice though and she put her hands on her hips. She heard the laughter from inside the van.

"Come on Sam," Mrs. Ely encouraged her. "Kit says you can sit on his lap."

Sam walked towards the van cautiously. Mrs. Ely gave her an encouraging smile. Sam glanced back at Gram who was also smiling encouragingly at her. Sam gave a shrug.

Mrs. Ely picked her up and helped her into the van where she came face to face with Jake. Sam was half-tempted to punch his arm and Jake saw it on her face. He grinned his irritating smug tomcat grin and Sam's fist itched.

"Go on, Samantha," Mrs. Ely told her.

Sam made her way to the back seat where three large boys sat. She didn't know which one was Kit until he held out his arms. He gave her what could only be described as a wolfish smile. Sam couldn't help smiling back at him as she crawled over the other two to sit on his lap.

Mrs. Ely shut the side door of the van and got into the passenger seat.

"We'll be back after dark," Mrs. Ely was telling Gram.

"Have fun, Sam," Gram told her as she waved.

Mr. Ely pulled out of the yard and turned towards Darton. Sam looked at the boy next to her wondering which one he was.

"That's Adam," Jake turned to tell her, startling her.

"Hi Sam," Adam smiled at her.

"I'm Nate," the boy next to Adam told her.

"Hi," Sam said shyly.

The two boys next to Jake turned around.

"I'm Bryan," one of them said.

"I'm Quinn," the other introduced himself. Sam could see a mischievous look in his eye.

"Which are the twins?" Sam had to ask.

"We are," Bryan and Quinn said at the same time.

Sam studied them. They didn't look anything alike.

"I told you," Jake laughed.

Sam nodded as she laughed with him.

"Now Samantha, you tell me if any of these boys tease you," Mrs. Ely was saying in the front of the van.

"Oh, Mom," Quinn pretended to whine. "Give us some credit. We wouldn't pick on a baby."

Kit felt Sam jump a bit at that. Her hand tightened into a fist.

"Do it," Kit whispered, his voice full of amusement. Adam and Nate were chuckling next to him.

Sam hit Quinn's shoulder.

"Ow," Quinn yelped, turning in his seat to look back at her.

The other five were laughing.

"I warned you," Jake said as he laughed.

"I think she's going to fit in just fine," Mr. Ely spoke for the first time, the humor evident in his voice.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Once they got to the fairgrounds, Jake opened the side door and the Ely boys started to pile out. Several people stopped to watch as a never ending stream of dark, black haired boys got out. Then tiny, auburn haired Sam got out and they got puzzled looks on their faces.

"Jake, you stick close to Samantha," Mrs. Ely told him.

"Ha!" Bryan crowed. "Jakey gets the girl."

Jake looked like he wanted to pound his brother.

"Knock it off," Mr. Ely told his sons. "Try to stay out of trouble. Meet back here at seven."

"Yes sir," all six boys chorused.

"Make sure you all eat something besides junk food," Mrs. Ely warned her boys.

"Yes ma'am," all six boys chorused.

Sam snorted. It sounded liked the six of them had rehearsed this. The boys glanced at Sam with grins on their faces.

Then they all headed away from their parents. Kit and Adam went together. Nate, Bryan and Quinn seemed to group up.

"Samantha do you need some spending money?" Mr. Ely asked.

Sam shook her head and showed him the ten dollar bill that Gram had given her. He nodded at her.

Jake trailed after Nate, Bryan and Quinn and Sam ran to catch up to him.

"Tagalong," Jake teased over his shoulder.

"Am not," Sam stuck out her tongue at him.

"Do you like rides?" Jake asked.

"I don't know," Sam answered.

"You've never been on a ride?" Jake was surprised.

Sam shook her head.

"I bet you're a puker," he laughed.

"What's that?" Sam inquired.

"Someone who pukes on rides," Jake informed her. "Come on, let's find out."

He started walking quickly towards a ride that made Sam feel dizzy just watching it.

"Wanna go?" his voice was a challenge.

Sam didn't, but wasn't going to let him know that. She nodded and then followed Jake to where they had to pay for a ticket for the ride.

"Sorry kids," the woman behind the booth told them. "She's too small for the ride."

"Well, that sucks," Jake grumbled, as he bought a ticket. "I bet you would have puked all over."

"I would not," Sam challenged.

"Guess we're not going to find out," Jake said. "You stay here and I'll be back in a minute."

Sam nodded and watched as he gave the attendant his ticket and got on the ride. It started to spin a few minutes later and Sam was glad she was too small to ride it. She heard a cowboy yell and bet that it was Jake. She had to smile.

"Hey, Sammy," she looked up to see Quinn, Bryan and Nate. "Where's Jake?"

Sam pointed to the ride as it continued to spin.

"Why aren't you riding it?" Bryan asked. "You too scared?"

"No," Sam stamped her foot. The three guys laughed. "They said I'm too small."

"Excuses, excuses," Quinn teased.

"She is pretty small," Nate said. Sam barely reached Nate's waist.

"Shrimp," Quinn continued to tease her.

"Haven't you learned your lesson not to tease her, Quinn?" Bryan joked with his twin. "She hit you pretty good."

"Yeah, she's got quite a punch for a little girl," Quinn grinned at her. Sam stomped her foot as hard as she could on his foot.

"Ow!" Quinn yelped, dancing on one foot while his two brothers laughed at him. "Jakey needs to control his girlfriend."

"I'm not his girlfriend," Sam kicked the opposite shin of Quinn's.

"Ouch!" Quinn looked as if he almost fell.

"What happened?" Jake strode up. The ride had ended without any of them realizing it.

"Sammy attacked Quinn," Nate laughed.

"He deserved it," Sam crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't doubt it, Brat," Jake grinned.

"I am _not_ a brat," Sam gave him a glare.

The four brothers glanced at each other and burst out laughing.

"So, how was the ride?" Bryan pointed at the ride Jake had just gotten off of.

"Pretty cool," Jake answered. "I wanted to take Sam on it to see if she'd puke, but she's too small."

"She can prolly only go on the merry-go-round," Nate looked down at Sam.

"What's that?" Sam wondered.

Nate looked at Jake who shrugged. Obviously Sam didn't know anything about the rides.

"It's a thing with horses that goes around in a circle," Nate explained.

"Boring," Quinn muttered.

"I bet she could do the Ferris wheel," Bryan suggested. When Sam looked up at him, he pointed towards a huge wheel looking thing that went way up into the sky. She gulped.

"Are you afraid?" Quinn asked.

"No," Sam said with a lot of bravado.

"Uh huh, let's see," Quinn took her arm and started going towards the Ferris wheel. The other three trailed along behind them.

"I'll even buy your ticket," Quinn dug a couple of dollars out of the front of his jeans pocket.

Sam looked up at the huge wheel as he paid for the tickets.

"It's not a big deal," Jake murmured next to her.

Sam swung her head around to look at him.

"It's less dangerous than riding your pony," Jake said.

"Really?" Sam questioned, looking up at the big wheel.

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "Just don't look down."

"Come on, Sammy," Quinn put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her towards the line to get on the ride.

Sam looked back at Jake and he gave her an encouraging look. She gave him a waned smile as she went with Quinn.

"Think she'll puke?" Bryan asked Jake.

"Nah," Jake shook his head.

"If she does, I hope it's all over Quinn," Nate commented and the three of them laughed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Quinn had to give her shoulders a push to get her up to get on the bench for the ride. He sat next to her and the attendant put the bar in front of them. The attendant frowned.

"She might not be big enough to ride this," he said to Quinn.

"I'll make sure she doesn't fall out," Quinn promised, putting his arm around Sam's small shoulders.

The attendant looked dubious, but finally nodded. He flipped a switch and the bench they were sitting on jerked backwards. Sam clutched at the bar in front of her in shock. Then the bench jerked to a stop as the attendant loaded the next people waiting in line onto the next bench.

Sam couldn't help but look up. The people on the highest bench seemed to be swaying their bench on purpose. They looked awfully far up and Sam gulped.

"Scared?" Quinn asked and Sam could see the mischievous glint in his eye.

"Only that you're going to puke on me," Sam sassed him.

Quinn started to laugh. He liked this little girl. She had a lot of spunk. She'd need it to hang around his family. So far she gave as good as she got, which was important with his family. Dad might have been right. She might fit in with them pretty well.

Quinn knew it had to be hard to lose your mother at such a young age. He couldn't imagine it, nor did he want to.

They jerked back several more times as the attendant loaded the ride with more people. Sam squeezed her eyes shut when they reached the top and the bench swayed way too much for her liking.

"Open your eyes," Quinn said. "You can see the whole fairgrounds from up here."

Sam opened one eye. He was right, she could see for miles. She opened the other eye. She remembered what Jake had told her about looking down, so she just looked out. She wasn't scared.

Sam started to smile. Quinn saw it and smiled back at her.

"So, who's older?" Sam asked him.

"Bryan by about two minutes," Quinn answered with a wry grin. "He never lets me forget it either."

"Why don't you look alike?"

"We're fraternal twins," Quinn said as the ride started. "I don't understand it all either, but that's what Mom told me."

"Oh," Sam nodded, not understanding at all.

They reached the bottom before going around and back up to the top. Sam wasn't scared at all as she looked out over the fairgrounds.

"Are you going to puke?" Quinn asked, laughter in his voice.

"Nope," Sam shook her head. "This isn't scary at all."

"Beats the merry-go-round which is for babies," Quinn told her.

"I'm not a baby," Sam gave him a look.

"Don't hit me again," Quinn teased.

"Don't call me that again," Sam countered.

Quinn gave a laugh.

Jake and his brothers watched from the ground disappointed that Sam didn't seem to be getting sick.

"Darn and I had hoped she'd lose her breakfast all over Quinn," Nate muttered.

"She's tougher than she looks," Bryan said.

"Gosh, she'd have to be," Nate looked at his brothers, each of them remembering how confused she looked at her mother's funeral.

The ride finally stopped and they waited until Quinn and Sam got off.

"So, how was it?" Nate asked Sam.

"Great," Sam gave him a smile. She glanced at Jake.

He understood and gave her a slight smile and nod.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Did you like the Ferris wheel?" Jake asked as the two of them wandered around the fair with his brothers.

"Yeah, as long as I remembered not to look down," Sam responded, looking up at him. "Thanks."

Jake simply nodded.

"Hey, there's Kit," Jake pointed and Sam looked to where he was pointing.

Kit was throwing baseballs at milk bottles and trying to knock them over. The others quickened their steps to go over to watch. Sam broke into a trot in order to keep up. Sam noticed there were young girls standing around and watching him. They were giggling. Sam rolled her eyes. Jake saw her and snorted.

Kit glanced at his brothers and Sam briefly before firing a baseball at the milk bottles and knocking them all down. The girls nearby made squealing noises. Kit grinned at them, and looked to almost preen with the attention.

"What do you want?" the guy behind the counter asked Kit, indicating with his hand that Kit could choose anything he wanted as a prize.

Sam looked at the prizes and spied a stuff horse immediately. She knew what she would choose. She didn't realize that she made a noise as she looked at the horse.

All of the Ely boys heard her and glanced down at her. She didn't see them, she was too intent on the stuffed horse. Kit looked in the direction Sam was looking and he pointed at the horse.

Sam saw the man take down the horse, but was distracted by the girls who were giggling, wondering which of them Kit was going to give the horse to. Sam frowned at them. They were so obvious in how they were acting. Right then, Sam vowed never to act that way around boys.

"Here you go, Sam," Kit held out the horse to her.

Sam looked up at him in confusion and shock, not daring to hope he was giving it to her. She glanced at Jake who was grinning at her confusion. Bryan, Nate, Adam and Quinn were also grinning at her.

"Really?" Sam barely whispered.

"Sure," Kit told her. "Jakey tells me you like horses."

"I do," Sam took the stuffed horse from him and hugged it to her chest. "Thank you."

Kit shrugged. He looked towards the girls who had been standing nearby and the looks on their faces told everyone in the area that they were disappointed he hadn't given it to one of them. Kit shrugged at them and flashed them what he hoped was an endearing smile. Sam could see the girls forgave him instantly. When he moved on down the aisleway they followed him. Adam and Nate went with him.

Quinn and Bryan wandered a bit slower down the aisle, looking at the various games of chance. Jake followed them with Sam trailing behind. Several times she got separated from Jake due to all the people. Finally with a long suffering sigh, Jake took her hand and practically dragged her with him.

Their hands were still clasped together when a big man ran into them, almost as if he were trying to separate them. He had a plate of food which dropped onto the ground.

"Why you little red…," the man growled at Jake. The man towered over Jake who had paled at the man's words. "Stick with your own kind, you savage."

Sam wasn't sure what the man meant, but she knew he was saying something mean. She kicked his shin as hard as she could.

"You little Injun lover," the man snarled at Sam. She clutched her stuffed horse closer to her chest as he bent down to her. She couldn't help but notice that his breath smelled.

Jake jerked her arm and started running through the crowd of people, dragging Sam behind him. Sam almost tripped several times as he towed her with him. He ran into the back of Bryan before he slowed down.

"Watch it," Bryan snapped at Jake, giving his youngest brother a shove. Jake almost fell causing Sam to almost fall with him.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked, taking in his little brother's face. Quinn looked back the way Jake had come.

"A man yelled at us," Sam said.

"What?" Bryan looked behind them too.

"What did he say?" Quinn asked.

Jake shook his head as if it wasn't important.

"I kicked him," Sam boasted. Both boys' jaws dropped before they started to laugh.

"Good goin', Sammy," Bryan told her, patting her shoulder.

Jake looked back but didn't see the man. He gave a sigh of relief and followed his brothers as they continued down the aisleway.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Jake and Sam walked down an aisle in a huge barn. Inside were some of the horses that were on display there. There were all sizes and colors, some Sam had never seen before.

"Oh that one's pretty," Sam pointed to a white horse covered in black spots.

"Appaloosa," Jake told her.

"App…," Sam trailed off.

"App-a-loo-sa," Jake pronounced it.

"Appy-loosa," Sam mimicked.

"Appy is close enough," Jake teased. He pointed to another spotted horse that had a different pattern of spots. "That's one too."

Sam didn't think that one was as pretty as the other one.

She stopped in front of a horse that had splotches of color all over its white body.

"Paint," Jake told her.

Sam nodded. The next horse was also a Paint but looked totally different than the one before. She looked back and forth between the two, trying to decide which one she liked better.

Suddenly there was a big nose bending down in front of her. Startled, Sam looked up into the face of the biggest horse she had ever seen. The horse blew gently through his nose at her. Sam giggled as she reached up to let the horse smell her hand.

"Draft horse," Jake informed her when she looked at him. "They used to pull wagons in the old days."

"I bet your whole family would fit on his back," Sam saw in awe.

"Nah, but I bet a couple of us would," Jake answered.

A bit further down, Jake stopped in front of a stocky horse. Sam noticed how big it was in behind as compared to the front end of him.

"This is what we have," Jake pointed out. "Quarter horse."

Sam knew what a quarter was. It was her weekly allowance for doing her chores. She couldn't understand why a horse would be named after a coin.

"Why is it a quarter?" she asked.

"Because they're fast," Jake responded.

Sam was confused and didn't get it. Normally she would ask Dad when she got home, but she didn't see much of him since her mother died.

"Okay," she said instead. As she followed Jake, there were more of these Quarter horses, all different colors. Sam thought they were a bit plain as compared to the colored horses they had seen earlier.

She stopped in front of a stall that contained a horse the color of gold. Its mane and tail were as white as snow. In the next stall was another, a bit darker gold, but with a snow white full mane and tail.

"Palomino," Jake told her.

"They're pretty," Sam gushed, in awe of the golden horses.

Sitting in front of the stalls was a girl about Sam's age. Her hair was almost as light as the golden horses. The girl was reading a book. Every once in awhile she would stab the glasses on her face with her index finger. She happened to glance up and saw the Sam was watching her and gave Sam a tentative smile.

"Your horses are pretty," Sam told the girl.

"Thanks," the girl murmured and went back to reading.

Sam looked a closer look at the book and thought it looked like a dictionary or encyclopedia. The girl looked nerdy. Sam could read, but her books were children's books.

"Those are your neighbors," Jake said as they continued down the aisle.

Sam turned around to look again at the girl reading the book. The girl never looked up.

"They live on the other side of you," Jake continued. "That girl is Jennifer Kenworthy."

Sam was amazed that someone her own age lived nearby. She had never seen her before.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

After they got through looking at the horses, Jake took her into the cattle barn. There were all types of cattle inside. Sam recognized the red and white type that her ranch raised. They were called Herefords.

Down the aisleway Sam saw a bull with the largest horns she had ever seen. She took a step back and ran into Jake.

"Mean lookin' aren't they?" Jake stepped around her to get a better look at the bull.

Sam was grossed out by the gob of mucus hanging from its nose.

"These are longhorns," Jake told her. "They're fierce but not as fierce as the Brahmas."

"Is that what you have?" Sam asked.

"No, we have Brangus and Herefords," Jake told her.

"What are Brangus?" she wondered.

"Angus and Brahma," Jake informed her. "Takes the nasty out of the Brahma part to cross them with Angus."

Sam had no idea what an Angus was either. Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her down the aisle. He stopped in front of a huge black bull.

"That's an Angus," he pointed.

Sam thought the black bull was pretty. There wasn't any white anywhere on him, but he too had a gob of mucus hanging down from his nose. She shivered.

"These are all pretty quiet," Jake continued, dragging her down the aisle again.

He stopped in front of a reinforced pen. Good thing it was reinforced because the bull inside kept butting his head against the sides as if trying to get out and go after the people watching him.

"This is a Brahma," Jake announced. Sam jumped when the bull rammed the side again and stepped behind Jake, peeking around him to look at it.

"Dad won't have one on the ranch," Jake was saying. "He doesn't think they're the best beef either. Says they're too mean to be tender."

Sam looked at him in confusion.

"Ah, never mind," Jake rubbed the back of his neck. Obviously Sam didn't know where meat came from.

After looking at all the cattle and listening to Jake tell her about them all, they went into another building that looked like it had crafts in it.

"Mom's photos are being judged," Jake said as they walked through.

"Her what?"

"Photos. Pictures," Jake explained. "Mom takes pictures with cameras and enters them in contests. She's won just about every year." He sounded proud of his mother. It brought home to Sam that her mother was gone.

Sam felt the tears in her eyes as she and Jake found Mrs. Ely. Mrs. Ely smiled at her son and then at Sam. She saw the tears on Sam's eyes and gave Jake a look before coming to Sam and squatting down in front of her.

"What's the matter, honey?" Mrs. Ely asked. "What happened, Jake?"

"Nothin'," Jake responded, confused at why Sam was crying.

Mrs. Ely put her arms around Sam and held her close to her breast. Sam sniffled into her. Jake stood nearby, rubbing the back of his neck and looking very uncomfortable.

"You miss your mom, don't you honey?" Mrs. Ely just seemed to know.

Sam nodded. Mrs. Ely held her close to her until Sam finished crying.

"Where did you get the little horse?" Mrs. Ely tried to get Sam's mind off of her mother.

"Kit gave it to me," Sam told her.

Mrs. Ely looked to Jake who nodded. "He won it throwing a ball at bottles," Jake explained.

"That was nice of him," Mrs. Ely murmured. "What's its name?"

"Jingles," Sam said, touching the little bell attached to the horses halter.

Jake rolled his eyes. This is why he didn't like to hang around with girls. He preferred Sam when she was kicking the shins of some guy. At least she wasn't clutching some doll. A stuffed horse was a whole lot better than a doll would have been.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sam's feet were dragging by the time she and Jake met up with the rest of the Ely family at the van. She had never walked so much in her life.

"Come on Sam," Kit encouraged her as she got into the van and practically collapsed onto his lap. Her head was on his chest and she was asleep even before Mr. Ely started the van.

The Ely boys were laughing and grinning at her as she slept.

"She's wore out, the poor thing," Mrs. Ely remarked as she closed the van door behind Jake.

"Mom, she's hardly a poor thing," Quinn pointed out. "She hit me several times today."

"Plus the guy she kicked," Jake reminded them.

"What guy she kicked?" Mom asked.

"Some guy said some nasty things to us and Sam kicked him," Jake explained.

"What nasty things?" Dad demanded to know.

"Said something about my being Indian," Jake shrugged. "Called Sam an Injun lover or something like that."

"My gosh, Jake," Mom looked horrified.

"Sammy defended you, huh?" Bryan teased.

Jake shrugged again.

"This one's a little spitfire," Adam laughed. "I can't wait to see her grow up."

Kit and Adam exchanged looks since they were the only ones who knew what boys did with girls. The two started to grin.

"Gosh, I feel like a perv," Kit said softly to Adam. "She's only four."

Adam snickered.

Jake looked back at the two of them, wondering what they were whispering about. Both of his brothers grinned at him.

"Looks like someone's already staked a claim," Adam said to Kit.

"Looks like," Kit agreed. "Wouldn't it be somethin' if it happened?"

The two of them glanced at each other before glancing back at Jake.

"You wanna bet?" Kit asked Adam.

"Heck no," Adam shook his head. "We need to write this down and put it away somewhere and look at it again in ten years."

"Make it fifteen," Kit suggested. "They'll only be almost sixteen and fourteen in ten years."

Adam nodded. "Okay, fifteen years."

The two exchanged amused glances knowing that one of them would write it down so they could see and remember in fifteen years.

Jake looked at them suspiciously as they talked together, so low he couldn't hear them. He was suspicious especially since they kept looking at him.

He glanced at Sam curled up on Kit's lap, clutching that stuffed horse he had won for her. Could Kit like Sam? Gosh, she was a baby and he was a teenager. He had seen the way the young girls had behaved around him today. He had seen it on lots of occasions. Jake had caught Kit once in the barn kissing a girl.

He shuddered. Jake couldn't imagine wanting to kiss a girl. Sam was okay to hang around with once in awhile, but kiss her? Yuck!

Mrs. Ely opened the side door of the van when they reached River Bend. She smiled softly at the young girl who was asleep so trustingly on her son's lap. She missed not having a daughter and then and there she vowed to do whatever she could so this little girl grew up knowing that she was loved. Mrs. Ely vowed that Samantha would know a mother's love, even if she wasn't the girl's mother.

Kit handed Sam to his mother and Maxine carried Sam up to the house. Gram opened the door and Maxine passed Sam off to her.

"She obviously had a good time," Maxine told Gram with a smile.

"Thanks Maxine," Gram responded. "She needed to get out away from the sadness here for awhile."

"You send her down to Three Ponies whenever you want," Maxine said. "If you don't want her riding alone, let me know and I'll send one of the boys to ride with her."

"I will," Gram promised.

The two women exchanged a smile and Gram shut the door after waving to the rest of the Elys and took Sam up to her bed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The summer passed and eventually Sam's father came back to the living. He spent less time in his room crying over his dead wife and more time out on the range taking care of the ranch.

Sam was happy to see him. He laughed again a bit more than he had since Mom died. Sometimes though, she saw him staring at nothing with a sad look upon his face. She knew he was thinking of Mom then.

Jingles, the stuffed horse that Kit had won for her, stayed on Sam's pillow and she slept with it at night. It was one of her most prized possessions.

Sam saw Jake a lot and he'd come over several times to take her back to his ranch. She would ride Sugar next to George as they traveled the five miles between ranches.

Sometimes, she'd stay in the house with his mom while he rode out onto the range with his brothers. Sam would help Mrs. Ely bake cookies and set the table much like she did at River Bend for lunch or dinner.

Sam soon came to think of Mrs. Ely as she would a beloved aunt. It seemed that Mrs. Ely enjoyed her company too.

When Sam ate at Three Ponies she usually sat between Quinn and Jake. Quinn would usually wink at her and she would wink back at him. He made Sam laugh a lot. Sam felt she needed to laugh after all the sorrow in her life.

One time when Sam was over to Three Ponies, an older man drove into the ranch yard while she was out playing with Jake. They were playing hide and seek and Jake was hiding. He was a much better hider than she was and she never could find him.

Now, this man got out of his vehicle and smiled at her.

"You must be Samantha," he said to her.

Sam nodded. She knew he was Indian since he looked similar to Mr. Ely.

"I'm MacArthur Ely," the man introduced himself, holding out his hand to her.

"Hi," Sam shyly put her hand in his.

"I'm Jake's grandfather," he winked at her and then Sam smiled at him and nodded.

"Jake!" Sam yelled.

He didn't answer.

"Jake, your grandfather is here," Sam tried.

"Nice try, Brat," Jake's shout could be heard coming from somewhere inside the barn.

"Look in the tack room just above the top shelf," Jake's grandfather told her.

"Really?" Sam wasn't sure if he was teasing her or not.

Jake's grandfather nodded. With a giggle, Sam ran towards the barn. Mac watched her as she ran and smiled. She had been through so much for a youngster. He was proud that Jake had befriended her. Mac got a speculative look on his face and he shut his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was smiling as if he knew a secret that no one else knew. Chuckling to himself, he went into the big stone house.

Sam continued on into the barn and ran to the tack room.

"Where can Jake be?" Sam pretended to ponder. She bit back a giggle as she opened the tack room door and turned on the light.

"Not here," Sam said and shut off the light and then shut the door.

Before Jake could take a breath, she jerked open the door, turned on the light and looked up at him.

"Gotcha," Sam laughed.

"How'd ya figure it out?" Jake started down.

"Your grandfather told me," Sam told him as he jumped to the ground.

"Grandfather is here?" Jake asked.

"I told you he was," Sam reminded him.

"I thought you were just trying to get me to come out," Jake pulled her hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Sam tried to swat at him, but Jake danced out of the way. Sam started to chase him as Jake stayed just out of reach as they ran outside the barn and into the bright sunshine in the ranch yard.

Mac was watching them from the kitchen window along with Maxine.

"She's good for him," Mac murmured.

"They certainly seem to get along pretty well," Maxine concurred. "It's way too early to know whether or not it will develop into something more. She's four and he's not quite six."

Mac nodded. "I feel it will be so."

"We'll see how it plays out," Maxine said. "They could have an argument or grow apart as they get older. Sam's not had to deal with Jake going back to school while she stays home like she will in a few weeks. Jake has other friends at school, while Sam doesn't."

"I think in twenty years you will have your daughter, Maxine," Mac told her.

"She's the daughter of my good friend," Maxine murmured. "It would be fitting if she did join this family one day. I do have six sons."

"It will be Jacob, I think," Mac replied.

"It sure seems like it could be," Maxine agreed.

"Tragic to lose a mother so young," Mac said.

"Yes, which is why I promised myself I would help that young girl any way I could," Maxine responded.

The two of them continued to watch Jake and Sam run around the yard as they played. Both of them were smiling at the thought of what might be one day.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Sam didn't see much of Jake once school started. He came over sometimes after school and they would go for a ride together. He now had homework to do after school along with his chores, so he wasn't able to come over very much.

Jake was happy to be back at school, but he'd rather stay home and ride his horse George. Even riding with Sam would be okay.

He was now in the first grade and one of his friends from kindergarten, Darrell, was in his class with him. They had befriended each other last year, but Darrell lived in Darton so Jake didn't see much of him outside of school.

Darrell was pretty outgoing, which was the opposite of Jake. Jake was outgoing with his friends and liked to goof off and laugh with them, but he normally was a bit more reserved around strangers.

Since Darrell lived in the city he didn't know much about horses, so that part of their friendship was separate. Darrell understood that horses were a big part of Jake's life even though all he knew about them were they were big and people rode them.

Now though the two were out on recess and playing catch with a football.

"Quinn's tellin' me you have a girlfriend," Darrell teased as he tossed the ball back to Jake.

Jake caught the ball with a grimace on his face.

"She's four," Jake threw the ball back at Darrell.

"Who is she?" Darrell wondered, tossing it back to Jake.

"Neighbor," Jake motioned for Darrell to run. Darrell started to run and Jake lobbed the ball to him. Darrell reached up to grab it, making the catch. Darrell pretended like he had scored a touchdown, dancing in place with the ball in his hands. Jake rolled his eyes at his friend.

Darrell then threw it back to Jake who positioned himself to catch it. Only an older boy pushed him out of the way and caught the ball instead.

"Hey," Jake recovered his balance without falling, but turned and went after the older boy who had stolen their football.

Darrell ran in from where he was and the two friends chased the other boy who threw the football to one of his friends. In a classic game of keep away, the older boys kept the football just out of the reach of Jake and Darrell.

Across the play yard, Quinn, Bryan and Nate saw what was going on. The older boys were Adam's age and should know better than to mess with an Ely. Quinn, Bryan and Nate started towards them.

The older boys saw the three Elys running their way and stopped what they were doing. They turned to look at Jake and for the first time noticed his dark skin and black hair, clues that should have warned them before that he was an Ely brother. The one who had the football tossed the ball to Jake who caught it, then tossed it to Darrell.

While the older boy who had started it all was looking towards Quinn, Bryan and Nate, Jake jumped him, catching him in the eye with a fist. The fight brought most of the other kids on the playground to the area where they formed a circle around the combatants.

The presence of Quinn, Nate and Bryan kept the friends of the older boy from ganging up on Jake or going after Darrell, who was shouting encouragement to his friend.

Adam had been at lunch and had just come outside and saw the commotion. He wandered over and was quite surprised to see Jake taking on someone five years older than he was. He sidled up next to his three younger brothers who were grinning towards Jake.

"He's going to get his ass kicked," Adam warned.

"Nah," Nate shook his head.

Just then Jake connected another punch to the older boys chin and the older boy fell. Jake jumped on top of him, wailing away with his fists much to the amusement of his older brothers.

Adam looked up and saw the principal coming towards them. He stepped forward and grabbed his youngest brother off the older boy.

"Hey killer, that's enough," Adam was laughing as he pulled Jake off.

"What's going on here?" the principal shouted as he came up. "Which of you boys were fighting?" He looked straight at the four Ely brothers.

"He stole our football," Darrell pointed at the older boy who was just getting up off the ground.

The principal gaped at the older boy who was twice the size of Jake. He looked at Jake who didn't have a scratch on him, then back to the older boy who was going to have a huge black eye and swollen chin.

"You boys have to learn you can't solve all your problems with your fists," the principal told the Elys. "Jake I want you and Robert in my office now."

Jake started towards the office without a backward glance. It wasn't the first time he had fought someone who thought they could get the better of him just because he was young. He knew the way to the principal's office as did all of his brothers.

Quinn, Bryan, Adam and Nate watched him go, grins on their faces. They would bet that nobody tried to take anything from Jake again after this. A first grader had beaten the crap out of a sixth grader and his brothers were proud of the fact that they had taught their little brother well. Of course, Jake had learned to fight from being picked on by his older brothers. Regardless, only they were allowed to pick on him and they would back him up if he needed them. It was quite obvious that Jake hadn't needed their help and the thought of that had them all cracking up.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Mom's going to kick your ass," Nate told Jake on the bus as they were heading for home after school.

"At least you didn't get suspended," Quinn laughed.

"Detention is nothin'," Bryan said.

"You would know," Jake's voice dripped sarcasm.

"We've all been there more times than Mom and Dad would like to count," Adam said.

"At least Rob won't be trying to steal your ball again," Nate laughed.

"Or anyone else," Bryan responded. "You did us proud, little man."

"Wait until Kit hears," Quinn said.

"Yeah, too bad he's in middle school now," Adam agreed. "He'd have liked to have seen killer here take on someone so much older than him."

Jake ignored them. Dad was going to assign him some nasty chores for this and he bet he wouldn't be allowed off the ranch for a month. He hoped he still be able to ride George around the ranch, but he had his doubts.

"I wonder if they'll take back your birthday presents," Bryan said.

Jake's birthday was this Saturday on October first.

"Nah, Mom wouldn't do that," Adam was sure. "They might not invite your girlfriend though."

Jake gave him a look. "She's not my girlfriend and what's the deal telling Darrell that she was?" He glanced at Quinn.

Adam snorted, remembering his conversation with Kit. Jake gave him another look wondering what was so funny. Why did they have to tease him about his friendship with Sam?

With them being older than he was, they rarely let him hang around with them. It left him time to be by himself, which he did enjoy but he also got lonely and finding Sam that day and becoming friends with her had helped ease that loneliness. Plus, he was older than she was and for once he wasn't bossed around like his brothers liked to do to him.

"Have you kissed Samantha?" Bryan teased.

Jake grimaced.

"I'm not kissing no girl," Jake announced. "She knows how to ride a horse is all. That's why she's my friend."

"I saw you holding her hand at the fair," Quinn started. "Sure you didn't kiss her?" He started making kissing noises.

Jake's hand balled up into a fist, but he tried to keep his temper under control. He didn't need to get into trouble twice in one day. His parents would have his hide if he did.

"Sammy and Jakey sittin' in a tree," Bryan sing-songed. Nate and Adam snorted.

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g," Quinn finished.

That did it. Jake whirled in his seat and his fist connected with Quinn's jaw. Quinn swung back at his little brother before Nate grabbed him and Adam grabbed Jake.

"What's going on back there?" the bus driver yelled.

"Nothin' sir," all five of the Ely brothers said at the same time, the picture of innocence.

"They were fighting," a girl sitting across from them called to the bus driver. She shrank back in her seat at the glowering looks she received from the five Elys.

"We weren't fighting," Quinn told her, disgust in his voice. "Maybe Suzie needs glasses."

"Or to mind her own business," Quinn hissed under his breath at her.

"They were just playing around," Bryan insisted, glaring at Suzie who looked like she was about to cry.

"Well knock it off," the bus driver warned them.

The five Elys continued to glare at Suzie who definitely was crying now.

"Sammy would have told us to shut up and hit us," Bryan laughed.

The other four snorted. Sam might be a girl but she wasn't a sissy and they liked that about her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"You're grounded," Maxine told Jake when she got home and heard about the fight. "I can't believe you did that Jake!"

"He stole our ball," Jake defended himself.

"So you hit him?" Maxine squawked. "You boys need to learn that hitting doesn't solve anything."

"It got the ball back," Jake said.

Maxine's jaw dropped as she gaped at her youngest son.

"Jacob Dylan Ely!" Maxine scolded him. "Go to your room. I can't deal with this right now."

Jake stalked off to his room. He met Quinn and Bryan in the hallway.

"So what happened?" Bryan asked.

"I'm grounded," Jake said softly, looking back down the hallway to make sure Mom wasn't there.

"From what?" Quinn wondered.

"She hasn't said yet," Jake told him.

"We're still proud of you, little man," Bryan grinned at Jake.

"Yeah, it's not just anyone who could take out a sixth grader," Quinn agreed.

"Jake, you better be in your room," Maxine yelled from the kitchen.

"See ya, Jakey," Bryan laughed as Jake went into his room and shut the door.

He wasn't sorry he had fought the older kid. As far as Jake was concerned, he had it coming for stealing the football. Jake grinned to himself. He bet the kid wouldn't do it again, or anyone else on the playground.

As quickly as he grinned, he frowned. Dad wasn't going to be happy. Jake wondered if they'd take back his birthday gifts, whatever they were. Mom was mad enough she just might do it. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to make excuses for hitting that kid. Lesson learned. Next time, he'd just not say anything and let his parents do all the talking.

He lay on his bed and started doing some of his homework. Maybe getting that done would convince his parents not to ground him too badly. Jake snorted. Who was he kidding? Dad was going to let him have it and Jake anticipated having to paint the little house or all of the fencing at this rate.

Jake wasn't sure how much time had elapsed before he heard the knock on his door.

"Yes?" Jake called.

The door opened and Dad was there. He didn't look happy.

"What happened today, Jake?" Dad asked.

Jake rolled into a sit as Dad came into the room and sat on the bed next to him. Jake told him everything that had happened. What the older kid had done and how he had reacted to it.

"We've warned you boys before that fighting doesn't settle anything," Dad said.

Jake didn't mention to his father, as he did to his mother, that he had gotten the ball back.

"Yes sir," Jake sounded contrite.

"You will be grounded for a week," Dad told him. "School and back and that's it."

"Yes sir," Jake nodded.

"It's against my better judgment, but your mother still wants you to celebrate your birthday on Saturday," Dad continued. "You can open your gifts, but you cannot use any of them until your grounding is over, understand?"

"Yes sir," Jake responded.

"Sam can come over for your birthday if you want her to, but not to play or see you otherwise," Dad finished.

Jake nodded.

"Come on out for dinner now," Dad stood up and Jake stood up with him. Jake followed his father into the main part of the house.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Sam, Mrs. Ely just called," Gram told Sam on Saturday.

Sam looked up at Gram.

"Today is Jake's birthday and she wanted to know if you wanted to come over," Gram said.

Sam's face lit up with a smile.

"I know you haven't seen much of him since he's been grounded," Gram brushed back a lock of Sam's hair. "Would you like to go?"

"Yes," Sam nodded. Then she frowned. "I didn't buy him a gift."

"Well, let's see if we can figure out something you can give him," Gram said.

She and Sam sat down at the kitchen table.

"I know," Gram smiled. "How about some carrots for his pony? We have a full bag in the pantry."

"George is a horse," Sam corrected Gram. "Jake gets mad if you call him a pony."

"Then we won't tell Jake that we did," Gram's smile grew wider.

"No, he won't know," Sam nodded as she laughed.

"You go up and get ready and I'll find the carrots," Gram told her. "Then I'll drive you over. Mrs. Ely will bring you home afterwards."

"Thanks Gram," Sam ran up the stairs and Gram smiled after her. It was good to see Sam happy and excited about things again. Gram knew Sam didn't understand the death of her mother.

Gram also knew that Sam had been missing Jake both since he had started back to school and now since he had gotten himself grounded.

Gram got up to go look for the carrots and found a couple of extra bags in the pantry. She took two of them down and hunted in another closet for wrapping paper. She chuckled to herself, never having thought she'd ever wrap up a couple of bags of carrots as a birthday gift.

When Sam came down, she was dressed in clean jeans and a sweater. Gram gave her a smile and told her how nice she looked. Sam laughed at the sight of the wrapped up carrots and thanked Gram.

"Won't Jake be surprised when he opens the package to see the carrots," Gram said and Sam nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Gram," Sam picked up the package and waited for Gram to get her purse and her keys.

Together they went out to Gram's big yellow Buick and Gram opened the passenger door for Sam. She waited until Sam was settled and buckled her granddaughter in before going around to the driver's side.

"Now listen to what Mr. and Mrs. Ely tell you while you're there, Samantha," Gram told her as they drove to Three Ponies. "Thank them for inviting you too"

"Yes, Gram," Sam promised. Her leg was bouncing, she was so excited.

Sam had missed Jake. She really didn't have anyone else to play with besides Jake. She wasn't allowed too far away from the ranch so she didn't meet other kids her age very often. She thought of that girl she had seen at the fair. The one who was her neighbor. Maybe she'd ask Jake about her today.

Gram pulled into Three Ponies and parked near the house.

"Have a good time, Sam," Gram told her, giving her a kiss.

"I will," Sam said, popping the button on the seatbelt and scrambling out of the car.

Gram looked up to see Maxine on the porch and the two women waved at each other as Sam headed for Jake's mom, the present in her hands.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Hi Sam," Mrs. Ely greeted her. "Jake will be glad you could come."

"Thanks for inviting me," Sam remembered to say.

"You're welcome honey," Mrs. Ely gave her a big hug. Sam clung to the woman, missing the feel of her mother's arms around her. Mrs. Ely seemed to realize it and gave Sam a big squeeze.

"Come on in," Mrs. Ely guided Sam into the house.

Sam thought she could smell the cake and would have bet that Mrs. Ely had baked it recently.

"Go ahead into the family room, Samantha," Mrs. Ely told her.

Sam looked up at her in almost a panic. She had never gone into the main part of the house before. Usually when she was over she and Jake hung around outside or in the kitchen.

Mrs. Ely smiled softly at her and encouraged her to follow as she went first. Sam was amazed at the size of the family room. Of course, the Elys were a big family so it made sense that they had a large family room. Sort of like them having a big vehicle.

"Jake, Sam's here," Mrs. Ely announced, causing Sam to blush when everyone turned to look at her.

"Hey Sammy," Nate called from one of the chairs as he turned from watching football on the big TV in the room.

"Hey," Jake glanced over at her with a smile.

"Hi," Sam gave a small, shy wave. "I brought you a present."

"Let's put it on the table with the others," Mrs. Ely suggested and Sam saw the table filled with gifts. Sam put the one she brought up with the others.

"Go ahead and sit down, Samantha," Mr. Ely smiled at her, pointing to the couch.

Sam went over to sit between a slouching Quinn and a slouching Adam.

"Do you like football, Sammy?" Quinn asked her.

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "I've never seen it before."

"We're playing later," Kit looked up from where he was sitting. "You can play too if you want."

The other five boys snorted.

"You will not tackle Samantha," Mrs. Ely warned them.

"Aw, Mom," Quinn whined. "You take all the fun out of everything." Quinn then grinned.

The other five boys snorted.

Mrs. Ely shook her head at her sons and went back into the kitchen.

"You can play center, Sammy," Adam told her.

"What's that?" Sam wondered.

"The hiker," Jake explained.

Sam tilted her head at him.

"The person who hikes the ball," Jake went further.

"Your mother's right," Mr. Ely warned them. "I don't think Wyatt would take too kindly to you boys tackling his four year old daughter in football."

"We won't," Kit promised. "Sam can hike the ball for me if she wants."

He smiled at Sam and she smiled back at him.

"Okay," Sam was excited.

Since she was an only child, she never had anyone to play with like this. She was looking forward to playing football with the Ely brothers and hoped she fit in okay.

"I won't get dirty will I?" Sam looked down at her good sweater.

"A little dirt never hurt anyone," Bryan teased.

"Gram won't like it if I get my sweater dirty," Sam explained.

"Nah Brat, you won't get dirty if you're just the center," Jake said.

"I'm not a brat," Sam huffed.

"Okay," Jake laughed and the other boys laughed too.

Mr. Ely smiled at the two of them.

"Well hello, Samantha," Jake's grandfather Mac came into the family room.

"Hi," Sam returned shyly.

"Happy birthday, Jake," Mac told his grandson. He put the present he had for Jake on the table with the others.

"Thank you, Grandfather," Jake responded.

"I hear you got into a bit of trouble this week," Mac continued. To Sam it looked like he was trying to keep from smiling.

"Yeah," Jake rubbed the back of his neck.

"Now that we're all here, let's have Jake open his presents," Mrs. Ely came in.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Uh, thanks Brat," Jake had just opened the package Sam had brought for him. His brothers were biting back laughter.

"They're for George," Sam told him.

"Yeah Jake, don't you know anything?" Quinn teased.

"Though it wouldn't hurt him to eat more vegetables," Mrs. Ely said.

Jake rolled his eyes as his brothers snorted.

"I'm sure George will appreciate Sam's gift," Mrs. Ely told him.

Sam blushed, thinking she had given him a dumb gift.

After Jake had opened all his presents and they'd eaten his cake, the boys got ready to go out and play football. Mrs. Ely looked at Sam's pretty pink sweater and shook her head.

"Jake, go get one of your sweatshirts for Sam to change into," she told him. "I don't want to take any chances on her pretty sweater getting messed up."

"Yeah Jake, get that pink sweatshirt of yours," Nate joked.

Jake gave him a look before he went to his room to get one of his sweatshirts.

"Make sure it's clean," Mom yelled so he'd hear her. Like he'd give Sam one of his dirty ones. Gosh, sometimes they treated him like he was an idiot.

Jake came back a few minutes later with one of his sweatshirts.

"Let me see that," Mrs. Ely held out her hand.

"Gosh Mom," Jake complained, but gave it to her.

She looked it over, nodded and handed it to Sam.

"There's a bathroom right off the kitchen that you can change in," Mrs. Ely told her.

Sam nodded and went in, closed the door and changed out of her sweater. She came back out with it in her hands.

"Go ahead and drape it over that chair there, honey," Mrs. Ely said. "The other boys are already outside."

"Come on," Jake led the way out of the house.

"Jake," Mom called to him and he turned around.

"Don't forget," she raised an eyebrow at him. Jake frowned and nodded.

"Don't forget what?" Sam asked when they were outside.

"I'm grounded and can't play," Jake griped.

Sam gave him a look of sympathy. The older boys were already in one of the pastures so Jake and Sam went that way. Jake opened the gate for her and shut it behind her. He stood on a fence rail to watch.

"Sorry, Jakey," Kit called to him. Jake merely nodded.

Sam turned around to look at Jake and he looked so forlorn as he watched. Then Kit took her arm and she looked up at him.

"All you need to do is hike the ball through your legs to me," Kit instructed her. "Watch."

Kit turned his back to her, bent over and put the ball on the ground. He widened his legs and then shot the ball back through his legs. Quinn caught it.

"Think you can do that?" Kit asked Sam.

Sam nodded and Kit handed her the ball. Sam bent over, widened her legs and looked through them at Kit.

Kit started to laugh. Gosh, he was going to have to ask Sam to do this again in about ten years or so. Now though, he felt like a perv and told her to hike the ball to him.

Sam hiked the ball through her legs and Kit caught it.

"Perfect," Kit told her. "That's all you have to do."

"Okay," Sam said. Kit handed the ball to her again.

"When I say 'hike', hike me the ball," Kit instructed.

"Okay," Sam said again.

She watched as they divided up in teams. Kit had Nate on his team while Adam had Bryan and Quinn. Sam looked back at Jake and knew his not being able to play was killing him.

"Ready, Sam?" Kit asked and Sam assumed the position.

Nate took off down the field and Adam, who was positioned in front of Sam started counting.

"One, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand," he counted.

"Hike," Kit called and Sam hiked the ball through her legs.

Kit caught it perfectly and looked for Nate to throw it to. When Adam reached five, he went around Sam and started towards Kit. Kit threw the ball right into Nate's hands just as Adam reached him.

"Darn it," Adam grumbled and turned to see if Bryan and Quinn were able to tackle Nate. "Yes!" Adam shouted when both boys jumped on Nate's back and took him down to the ground.

"Now we go up to where Nate is," Kit told Sam and she followed the two boys.

Bryan and Quinn were slow getting up and when they did, they did their best to rub Nate's face on the ground. Sam giggled. The twins grinned at her.

"Think that's funny do you, Sammy?" Nate teased as he got up. He pulled her hair gently as he handed her the ball.

"Yeah," Sam told him and Nate laughed.

Sam bent over again and looked at Kit through her legs. Once again Nate took off down the pasture field with Bryan and Quinn after him. Adam was counting and Kit told Sam to hike the ball. Adam managed to tackle Kit before he could throw the ball.

"Ha!" Adam crowed as he got up. He held out a hand for Kit and Kit took it and Adam helped him up.

The next time though, Kit was able to throw the ball to Nate who eluded the twins to score a touchdown. Nate danced and teased his brothers who hooted at him in disgust.

Nate trotted back and handed the ball to Sam.

"Now you hike for me, Sammy," Adam said.

Sam nodded and turned around so her back was facing Adam. She bent over and looked at him through her legs. Adam laughed and his eyes met those of Kit.

"Ten years?" Adam called out to his older brother.

"Definitely," Kit laughed.

Nate, Bryan, Quinn and Sam had no idea what they found so funny.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

They played football most of the afternoon. Sam was having fun even though she felt badly for Jake who wandered around the yard a bit when he got tired or bored of just watching.

The sun was getting lower in the sky when Mrs. Ely came out to tell them that dinner was about ready. Sam wondered if she should call and have Gram pick her up.

"I hope you'll stay for dinner, Samantha," Mrs. Ely told her. "I called Grace and she said it was all right."

Sam nodded.

"I bet Grandfather is grilling steaks," Nate said. Sam could hear the enthusiasm in his voice.

"He usually does for our birthdays," Bryan told him.

"Yeah, except for Kit's birthday," Quinn laughed. The others, excluding Kit laughed.

"Why?" Sam had to ask.

"Kit's birthday is in the middle of February," Adam told her.

"Oh," Sam smiled at Kit who shrugged.

"Come on, we have time for one more play," Kit said to them all. He tossed the football to Sam who caught it with both hands. As they walked back to where they would play, Kit put his arm around Sam's shoulder. Surprised, Sam looked up into his dark face.

"We're going to run a trick play, Sammy," Kit whispered.

"What's that?" Sam whispered back.

"We're going to trick Adam's team," Kit winked. "When I tell you to run, you take the ball and run as fast as you can towards their goal, okay?"

"Okay," Sam nodded. Then she stopped walking. "Wait, they won't tackle me will they?"

"No, because Dad will tan their hides," Kit laughed. "That's the beauty of the trick play."

"Okay," Sam said again, not really understanding what he had said. All she knew is that they wouldn't tackle her. She had seen them tackling each other and they were brutal.

"Ready?" Kit called to everyone.

"Yeah, you pansy, let's go," Adam yelled back at him.

Kit just laughed. Sam bent over. Nate took off down the field and Adam started counting. Just as he took a step in Kit's direction, Kit yelled at Sam to run.

She picked up the ball and ran down the field.

"What the…," she heard Adam shout. "That's cheatin'!" He was laughing as he said it though. "Someone get the shrimp!"

Sam saw Bryan coming towards her and she ducked under his arm and kept running. Bryan made a show to chase after her. Quinn stood in her way with his arms out to his side. Sam cut around him and kept running. She heard Jake's brothers laughingly telling her to run, even those on the opposite team.

She finally reached the goal area and started dancing around like she had seen the boys doing. They were all laughing at her. Jake was back and sitting on the fence and he was laughing too.

"Woohoo, we win!" Kit shouted and ran down to pick Sam up and put her on his shoulders. "We win, we win!"

"Atta way, Sammy," Nate held up his hand and Sam gave him a high five.

"My gosh, did you see her run?" Bryan was choking on his laughter.

"She's got to play with us all the time," Quinn was laughing heartily.

They headed out of the pasture with Sam still on Kit's shoulders. Jake caught her eye and she could tell he had enjoyed watching her run the last play.

"I'd have tackled you," Jake told her, a smug grin on his face.

"You'd have to catch me first," Sam stuck out her tongue at him, much to the amusement of his brothers.

"Wouldn't have been a problem, Brat," Jake told her.

"I am not a brat," Sam insisted, sticking her tongue out at him again.

"'Course not," Jake shook his head as he laughed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Sam had so much fun playing football with the Elys that day. During the fall, Jake would invite her over on the weekends to play football with them. Most of the time she was the center who hiked the ball, but every once in awhile she'd run with the ball too.

Jake did tackle her though he didn't hit her as hard as he would have if it had been one of his brothers running with the football. When he tackled her, he laid on her for a few moments, letting her feel his full weight.

"See, I told you I could catch you," Jake smirked, his face close to hers.

Sam stuck her tongue out at him. He was so close she almost touched his lip with her tongue. For some reason Kit burst out laughing. Both Sam and Jake looked at him, wondering what he found so funny.

"You gotta wait for that," Kit told them, still laughing as he picked Sam up off the ground.

"Wait?" Jake got up also.

"About ten years," Kit was busting up with laughter. Adam started to laugh too.

Sam and Jake looked at each other and they both shrugged, not getting it. Bryan and Quinn didn't get it either.

Once winter hit, if Sam went to Three Ponies, she and Jake would either play in the barn or in the house. Sometimes Mrs. Ely would pick Sam up on her way home after teaching school and Sam would stay and eat dinner with them and play with Jake.

On those days, they would sometimes ride around the ranch yard. Jake would let her ride George and he would ride one of the other horses. He had taught her how to play tag on horseback and they would chase each other around trying to tag each other as _it_.

One time Sam tried to tag Jake by leaning over on George's back. Jake ducked under her hand and brought his horse to a sliding stop. Sam lost her balance and landed face first into a snow bank. Jake laughed so hard he almost fell off his horse as she rolled over and wiped the snow from her face.

She then grabbed a handful of snow, made a snowball at it and threw it at him. Sam was as surprised as Jake was when she hit him smack in the face. His expression was priceless.

Then he jumped off his horse. Sam scrambled to her feet and started running. She was no match for Jake and he caught her easily, tackling her into the snow bank. He grabbed a handful of snow and washed her face with it. Sam was screaming with laughter and ended up swallowing some of the snow.

Jake laughed as she choked. Then he pretended to rescue her by slapping her back which caused her to fall face first into the snow again and started the two wrestling in the snow.

They went into the house, dropping snow all over the floor. Sam was sure Mrs. Ely would be mad at the puddle they made, but Jake's mom just laughed. She shooed Jake down to his room and told him to bring back some dry clothes for Sam too.

When Jake returned he had a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt in his arms. He had already changed into a pair himself.

"They're clean," he told his mother when she gave him an inquiring look. Jake rolled his eyes.

Sam took the sweats and went into the small bathroom next to the kitchen and changed.

"Maybe you need to bring some of your clothes here and store them," Mrs. Ely teased her.

Sam laughed and smiled at Jake's mom. She really liked Mrs. Ely. She especially liked Mrs. Ely's hugs and kisses that she always had for Sam.

As much fun as she had with Jake during the winter, she was thankful that spring had started to break out over Nevada. After spring came summer which meant that she'd see a lot more of Jake once he was out of school.

Then next fall, she would start school and be in the same place as Jake, Quinn, Bryan, Nate and Adam. She couldn't wait.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Summer came to the high desert of Nevada and Sam turned five years old. It had been almost a year since the loss of her mother and Sam didn't think of her much. She was still too young to understand the loss and those in her life tried to make sure she felt well loved.

Gram tried to spend a lot of time with her during the day. Dad was busy with the ranch, but he tried to include Sam sometimes and spent time with her at night, always making sure he tucked her into bed and read a horse story to her.

Mrs. Ely became like a mother to her. Sam spent a lot of time at Three Ponies, especially on the weekends. Then she and Mrs. Ely would bake cookies and Sam would hang out with the whole family. Even Mr. Ely treated her like one of his own. He was a stern man, just like Dad was, but he always had a smile for her.

Sam was excited since Dad had told her that she could go with him and Gram on roundup this year. The two adults had talked about it, not sure if Sam was really old enough, but with her mother gone there was no one to watch Sam while Dad and Gram were gone for two weeks.

Mrs. Ely offered to watch Samantha since she never went on roundup with her husband and sons, but Dad decided that Sam should go along. It wouldn't hurt her to start learning the ways of the ranch. Plus, it would help her with her riding.

Sam had a growth spurt during the winter and Dad decided that Sugar was now too small for Sam. She had cried at the prospect of not riding her pony any more and had hugged the pony goodbye as they got ready to leave for roundup. Dad had promised her a surprise once they reached Black Rock where they started to gather the cattle for the drive.

Sam rode in the truck between Dad and Dallas on the trip. Dad was pulling the horse trailer with the River Bend horses inside. Gram was following in a big white van like the Elys' that served as the chuck wagon while on the roundup. Gram would pitch the tents and cook the food.

Sam was excited to be sleeping in a tent. She had never done it before. Jake had rolled his eyes when she told him how excited she was, telling her what a baby she was and that he had slept in tents a lot. Jake liked to pretend he was so much older and more experienced than she was at times that she just wanted to hit him.

When Dad had pulled up to where they would start, Sam peeked over the dashboard and saw that the Elys were already there. They were in the process of taking their horses out of the trailer.

Sam watched as each boy tied a horse to the ring on the side of the trailer, choosing which horses they would ride first. She was surprised when Jake tied a bright sorrel with a wide blaze and two front white socks to the side of the trailer. Why wasn't he riding George?

She crawled over the seat after Dallas got out of the truck and ran towards Jake.

"Careful, Brat," Jake told her, glancing at her over his shoulder.

Sam had quit trying to convince him that she wasn't a brat and most of the time ignored the nickname.

"Why aren't you riding George?" Sam asked as she stopped and then walked the few feet between them.

Jake shrugged and turned away from her. She thought she saw a grin on his face but she when looked closer, it was gone.

"What's her name?" Sam reached up towards the sorrel.

"_His_ name is Duke," Jake told her. "He's gonna be insulted you thought he was a girl."

"I'm sorry, Duke," Sam cooed to the horse who dropped his head down to snuffle at her. "He likes me."

"Sam?" she heard Dad's voice and turned. He had hold of the reins of George. "Think maybe you might want to get acquainted with your new horse?"

"Mine?" she shrieked, startling Duke who snorted in alarm. Jake touched the horse to quiet it and gave Sam a dirty look.

"George is mine?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"If you keep shouting, I'll take him back," Jake warned her. Sam stuck out her tongue at him and went towards Dad to see George.

"Do you like him?" Dad asked.

"I love him," Sam answered, hugging the horse's chest. Jake rolled his eyes as he threw a saddle up on Duke's back.

"He's still a little big for you, but you'll grow into him," Dad told her.

"Yes!" Sam couldn't hide her excitement.

"Come on, I'll lift you up," Dad grabbed her under her arms and put her George's back. Sam felt so tall for the first time in her life.

"Lookin' like a cowgirl, Sammy," Bryan said as he swung up into the saddle.

Dad plunked a Stetson on her head and Sam felt like a cowgirl.

"Thanks, Daddy," Sam hugged her father.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Dad hugged her back, grateful that he could do this for her. She had been through so much the past year and she had been a brave little girl.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Sam usually rode next to Dallas or Dad. Both kept an eye on her as she rode her new horse. She loved George and he seemed so responsive to her.

When Dad told her she had to rest him, putting him in the remuda with the other horses not being worked, Sam pouted at first.

"It's not fair to him if you wear him out," Dad told her. "You don't want to hurt him, do you?"

Sam was very softhearted and Dad knew that. Sam got down without further questioning and they saddled up another small horse for her that belonged to the Elys.

One time when Sam rode next to Jake she asked him about his saddle. He normally didn't ride with one.

"Quinn finally outgrew his saddle," Jake explained. "I prefer ridin' bareback, but Dad didn't want me to out here."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Why, what?" Jake asked a question of his own.

"Why do you like bareback better?"

"You can feel the horse under you better," Jake explained. "If you can ride bareback, you can ride with a saddle easy."

Sam thought about that. She had never ridden bareback.

"Can you teach me?" she asked.

Jake glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. He took in the way she rode in an instant. She wasn't bad but she didn't have much contact with George's mouth and she certainly wouldn't be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to, if he were so inclined.

"I guess," Jake gave a long-suffering sigh. "We can try."

Sam's face lit up into a smile under the brim of her new cowboy hat.

"Not now," Jake warned her. "Durin' the summer sometime."

"Okay," Sam nodded.

"We'll use George since he's used to it," Jake told her.

"Okay."

"On a hot day in the river," Jake continued.

Sam looked at him in confusion.

"Why?"

Jake shrugged. "That's just what Grandfather told me when I was taught."

"Oh," Sam murmured.

"I think it's 'cause you won't have as far to fall when you come off," Jake laughed, giving her his smug tomcat grin.

"Maybe I won't fall off," Sam gave it right back to him, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You will," Jake said with certainty.

"Humph," Sam huffed, ignoring him.

That only made Jake laugh harder.

Sometimes he thought he was so much better at things than she was, it made her crazy. Of course, when it came to riding, he was but she'd never tell him that.

Sam was sore most days when they made camp for the night. She wasn't used to riding that long and nobody gave her any allowances for just being five. Jake told her he had been going on roundup since he was three. Another thing he could lord over her, she thought.

Usually one of the men, Jake or one of his brothers would take her saddle off her horse for her and carry it into camp. She stayed in a tent with Gram. Sam had her own sleeping bag though.

"Well at least if a grizzly shows up, they'll try to eat Sammy first," Quinn teased one night as they sat around and ate dinner.

Sam's head snapped up at that bit of news.

"Nah, she'd be just a snack for a grizzly," Nate joked. "The bear would eat you after eating Sam."

"Nate," Mr. Ely warned him, seeing the fright on Sam's face.

"Nah, grizzlies don't eat brats," Jake drawled with a laugh. Sam hit him.

"Samantha Anne!" Gram scolded her. "We don't hit other people."

"He's not other people, he's Jake," Sam reasoned, causing everyone around the campfire to start laughing. Jake laughed the hardest of all of them.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Sam liked camping out at roundup, but Gram did snore quite a bit which Sam didn't like. It made it hard for her to sleep sometimes.

Sam was so tired the next day that she had a hard time keeping her eyes open while riding. Jake noticed it.

"Why are you so tired?" he asked.

"Gram snores," Sam responded.

Jake snorted and Sam gave him a glare.

"I bet you sleep good tonight though," Jake gave her a look and Sam wondered at it.

"Maybe," Sam said.

She saw him later talking to his brothers who were laughing. Quinn slapped Jake on the back as they laughed. Quinn glanced at Sam.

"How ya doin', Sammy?" he asked.

"Fine," Sam answered, wondering what was so funny.

"Good to hear," Quinn responded.

"What was so funny?" she asked Jake later at dinner.

"Nothin' Brat," Jake told her. "Just somethin' my brothers were laughing about."

"You laughed too," Sam reminded him.

Jake shrugged. Sam grumbled under her breath. Sometimes it seemed Jake ran out of words and then he just shrugged.

Sam had eaten too much at dinner and that plus the lack of sleep made her almost fall asleep at the campfire. Her head kept dropping onto her chest, then she'd jerk awake just to have her head drop down again.

The Ely brothers met each others' eyes across the fire and all of them tried to bite back grins.

"Sam honey, why don't you just go to bed," Gram encouraged her as she squatted down next to her granddaughter.

Sam nodded, getting up and stumbling to the tent she shared with Gram.

She was asleep before her head hit her pillow and not even Gram's coming in later or Gram's snoring woke her up.

Jake and his brothers had the second nighthawking shift. When their shift ended, they all were trying not to laugh as they stored their gear.

"Did you really bring one?" Kit whispered to Quinn.

"You bet," Quinn held the object out so Kit could feel it in the darkness.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Just for this reason," Quinn told him. "I knew sooner or later we'd get our chance."

"You better hope her Gram doesn't find it," Jake said.

"She won't," Quinn assured him.

"You better let Jake do it since he's quieter than you are," Nate suggested.

"Good idea," Bryan nodded and Quinn handed the object to Jake.

"You're on your own if you get busted, little man," Kit warned him.

"You guys would desert me?" Jake squawked.

"You bet," Adam laughed softly. The other four nodded.

"I'll be right back," Jake told them and started forward.

They tried to watch and listen but Jake disappeared into the darkness and they never heard him gain access to the tent.

"Dang, he's good," Nate said. "Can any of you hear him?"

"No," Kit answered.

"Maybe he's not really going to do it," Bryan said.

"Just pretend he does," Quinn agreed.

"Nah, this is right up Jake's alley," Adam shook his head.

Jake was back in a few minutes.

"Did you do it?" Kit asked.

"Yep," Jake's voice held amusement. "Sam wasn't kidding about her Gram's snoring. I prolly could have lit off firecrackers and wouldn't have woke them up."

"Where'd you put it?" Quinn wondered.

"In her sleeping bag," Jake informed him.

"_In_ the bag?" Nate was incredulous, as he choked back his laughter.

"Yep," Jake said as the six of them started back towards their tent.

"This is going to be good," Bryan was laughing.

"I don't imagine we'll need an alarm clock in the morning, huh?" Adam joked.

"No, I imagine the whole camp will be woke up at the same time," Kit clapped his youngest brother on the back. "Good goin', Jakey."

Jake grinned, enjoying the praise of his brothers.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

The scream pierced the morning air. Over and over it rang out. Jake and his brothers started laughing while everyone else rushed towards the tent that Sam shared with her grandmother. Luke noticed his sons and walked towards them.

"What did you do?" Luke asked Kit.

"It's a rubber snake," Kit answered.

Luke shook his head. He was used to his sons pulling pranks on each other.

Gram came out of the tent holding the snake.

"She was a bit startled," Gram told Sam's dad.

It looked like Wyatt was trying to get his breathing under control. Gram walked up to the Ely boys, the snake in her hand.

"I believe this belongs to one of you?" she said holding it out.

Quinn took it from her.

Sam came out of the tent and everyone could see she had been crying. Jake rubbed the back of his neck. Her eyes met his and she looked away and headed for the campfire.

"She was crying," Kit grumbled.

"Yeah," Bryan murmured.

"She's just five years old and not used to having siblings," Luke reminded them. He gave each of his sons a look.

"Yes sir," they all said. They would apologize to her.

The boys headed for the campfire.

Luke met up with Wyatt.

"They'll apologize," Luke told him.

"I just about had a heart attack," Wyatt said.

"I imagine," Luke sympathized. "The boys think of Sam as their little sister and they treat her as such."

"I understand," Wyatt nodded. "She's not used to pranks though."

"Maybe my boys need a bit of payback," Luke smiled.

Wyatt chuckled.

"Do you have any ideas?" Wyatt asked.

"Give me time to think about it," Luke told him and the two men laughed together.

"We're sorry, Sam," Adam said to Sam when they caught up to her.

She looked up briefly from her breakfast before looking at her plate again.

"Okay," she shrugged.

Quinn took the rubber snake out of his pocket.

"It's just rubber," he explained.

Sam flinched a bit from it. Then she nodded.

"Okay," she said again.

The boys drifted towards the food. After filling their plates, they came back to sit near Sam.

"We didn't mean anything by it," Jake said to her as he sat next to her.

"I know," Sam responded. "I don't like snakes."

"I could tell," Jake grinned.

Sam stuck out her tongue at him.

"I'll give you that one," Jake said, chuckling.

"Will you forgive us, Sammy?" Adam asked.

Sam blushed, looking down and nodding.

"It was all Jakey's idea," Quinn told her.

Sam's head snapped up and she looked at Jake.

"Was not," Jake defended himself.

"We all are to blame," Kit said.

"It won't happen again, right boys?" Luke had come up behind them.

"Aw, Dad," Bryan whined. "She's family and that's what families do."

Sam was surprised at Bryan's declaration. Jake could see it on her face. He gave her a smile and Sam couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she looked back at him.

"Just rein it in a bit," Luke warned them.

"Okay, Dad," Adam murmured, knowing his father was serious.

Luke gave a nod and went to saddle his horse.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

The Ely boys were asleep in their tent when Luke and Wyatt crept towards it.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Luke?" Wyatt asked.

"Yep," Luke said. "My boys need to be brought down a peg or two."

"Or six," Wyatt joked.

The object in Luke's arms tried to get away but Luke tightened his arms around it. The object was wrapped in Luke's coat to protect it and him.

"Ready?" Wyatt inquired.

"Sure am," Luke told him.

Wyatt unzipped the tent and Luke tossed in the jackrabbit that he had managed to catch earlier. Wyatt quickly rezipped the tent before the rabbit could escape. Then he snapped a clip on it, making it impossible to open from the inside.

They could hear the rabbit running around the tent and the two men chuckled as the boys started waking up and yelling, wondering what was in their tent with them.

"What is it?" Adam yelled.

"Holy crap," Kit was shouting.

They could hear the boys scrambling a second before someone was trying to get the zipper of the tent open.

"I can't get the tent open," Bryan voice was loud in the night.

"Get out of the way," Kit told him and he started yanking at the zipper.

Wyatt and Luke were biting back their laughter.

"It's a rabbit," Jake told his brothers.

"What?" Nate yelped.

"How did a rabbit get in our tent?" Quinn asked.

"Ow, the thing jumped up and bit me," Bryan shouted. "Get it out of here."

Luke nodded and Wyatt unclipped the zipper. It opened immediately. Quinn, Bryan, Nate and Adam piled out of the tent, almost tripping over each other as they did. They came up short upon seeing Dad and Wyatt standing nearby.

"Oh, man," Adam grouched.

"You did this, Dad?" Bryan asked.

Kit came out of the tent followed by Jake who held the rabbit by the ears. He put it down and the rabbit took off.

"No more tricks on Samantha," Luke told his sons.

"Okay," the six boys said at the same time.

"I appreciate you boys caring about her and thinking of her as your little sister," Wyatt told them. "However, she's not used to this kind of thing."

"So does that mean we can pull pranks on her once she's used to it?" Quinn asked with a laugh.

"Give her a few years," Wyatt responded with a chuckle.

"Go back to bed now," Luke said to his boys.

"Yes, sir," all six murmured and headed back to their tent.

"I can't believe our own father got us like that," Quinn complained.

"I can't believe how you screamed like a girl at a little rabbit," Jake laughed.

"I didn't scream like a girl," Quinn pushed him.

"He put Sam to shame," Kit laughed.

"Oh, I did not," Quinn muttered.

"Someone get the rabbit," Adam cried in a falsetto.

That set off the rest of them.

"Help me," Bryan's voice rose. "A mean old rabbit is attacking me."

The six of them were laughing heartily by the time they settled back into their tent. Dad and Mr. Forster had gotten them pretty good.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

A couple of weeks after roundup, Jake rode into River Bend intent on helping Sam to ride bareback. It was a hot day which would be perfect for being in the river.

Sam had just eaten lunch and was coming out of the house when Jake came over the bridge. He was riding bareback and had complete control over Duke. He spied her as she came out of the house and rode towards her.

"Wanna learn to ride bareback?" Jake asked.

Sam saw he was wearing a pair of cut off jeans. She looked down at her shorts and nodded.

"Come on then," Jake got off of Duke and together they walked towards the pasture. Jake tied Duke to the rail and went with Sam to the tack room where he got down the bridle she used with George.

Jake let out a piercing whistle and George left the River Bend horses to come to the gate.

"How'd you do that?" Sam wondered, looking up at Jake's mouth.

"I'll teach ya that some other time," Jake promised. "Let's get you goin' with this first."

Sam nodded and they put the bridle on George and led him out of the pasture. George went immediately to Jake and rubbed his head against his chest, almost knocking him over.

"I guess he still remembers you," Sam murmured, jealous that George never did that to her.

"I had him awhile," Jake shrugged. He could see the pout on Sam's face.

He started walking towards the river, Sam trailing behind him leading George. When they got there, Sam looked at the river which looked high despite the lack of rain.

Jake took off his shoes and left them on the bank. Sam kicked hers off too.

"Ready?" Jake looked at her and Sam nodded.

They picked their way down the bank, Sam stumbling a bit. Jake took George's reins and let her scramble down on her own.

"Ouch," Sam yelped as she stepped on a rock. She fell head first into the river.

"Oh for…," Jake muttered, grabbing her by the shirt and hauling her above water. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Brat?"

Sam spit out water, sneezed a bit then put her hands on her hips.

"I am _not_ a brat," she declared.

"Coulda fooled me," Jake mumbled as he steadied George. He saw Sam ball up her fist. "If you punch me, you're on your own."

Sam dropped her hand. "There, happy?"

Jake just laughed. They stared at each other for a few minutes. Finally Sam stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on, Brat," Jake wiggled his fingers at her to get her closer.

Sam sidled up next to him, not sure what he wanted.

"I'm gonna give you a leg up then I'll hold him until you're settled," Jake explained.

"What's that?" Sam looked up at him to ask.

"Raise your knee," Jake told her.

Sam gave him a skeptical look but did as he asked. Jake bent slightly and grabbed her ankle, pulling up. Sam was throwing her leg over George and looking at Jake in amazement.

"Wow," she said.

"Grip him with your knees," Jake instructed.

"I can't, he's all slippery," Sam complained.

"You can," Jake argued. "Take a grip on his mane too."

Sam did as she was told.

"Grandfather said to center yourself," Jake said and Sam scooted her butt until she was centered on George's back.

Jake nodded and let go of George's bridle.

"Go ahead and let him walk," Jake told her.

Sam nudged George with her heels and George started walking forward in the water. She slipped and before Jake could steady her, she went off the right side of George and into the water with a splash.

George shied a bit and Jake grabbed a rein before the horse could get very far. He turned back to see Sam standing up in the river and wiping her face.

"You okay?" he asked.

Sam nodded. Jake brought George back to her and Sam raised her knee. Jake gave her another leg up and Sam centered herself and grabbed George's mane.

"Use all of your legs to grip, not just your knees," Jake suggested.

"Okay," Sam nodded and urged George forward again. This time she didn't slip off right away. She grinned back at Jake and that's when she slipped and fell in again.

Jake grabbed George and brought him back.

"What seems to be the problem?" Jake asked her.

"I slip?" Sam answered, causing Jake to snort.

"Get back up," Jake said and he helped Sam up. Once she was settled, he grabbed George's mane with his left hand and swung up behind Samantha.

"What are you doing?" Sam yelped.

"Helping you ride bareback," Jake responded. "Hang onto the mane." He scooted up behind her until she felt him behind her. His legs were outside of hers. Suddenly Sam felt like she was secure and she nodded in understanding.

"Go ahead," Jake told her and Sam urged George forward. This time when she slipped, Jake's body kept her centered. She was able to recover her balance without falling off.

They rode up and down the river this way until Sam felt she was ready to take George's reins. Jake handed them to her and put his hands on his thighs as they rode along. Sam felt like she was in a Jake chair, he was all around her as they rode.

Her smile grew as she rode her horse. Finally, she couldn't hold in the giggle and let it escape. Behind her Jake grinned, happy that she was doing so well.

"This is eas…," Sam began, but shrieked when Jake wrapped his arms around her waist and launched himself off of George's back, taking her with him. They hit the water sideways, Jake's laughter in her ear as they went under.

Sam came up spitting water out and splashed him with her hand in the water. Jake was laughing and splashed her back. George went up the bank to stand while the humans kept splashing and then dunking each other.

Jake was splashing Sam so much, she was swallowing water. Still she laughed and tried to get him back. She started to cough and knew she was going to lose this battle.

"Stop," she told him.

"What do you say, Brat?" Jake asked.

"Just stop," Sam said.

"Nuh uh," Jake continued to splash her.

"Uncle, you moron," Sam screamed, trying to turn her head from the onslaught of water he was splashing at her.

Just like that, Jake quit.

"See? That's all you had to say," he teased, his smug tomcat grin making her hand itch to smack him.

Sam gave him an irritated glance and started climbing the bank. George was grazing nearby so Sam sat on the bank in a patch of sunlight. Jake sat next to her, taking his hand and brushing back his wet, black hair.

"Why'd you do that?" Sam asked.

"Do what?"

"Dive off George," Sam said.

Jake shrugged with a grin. "Why not?"

Sam snorted and then she did hit him.

Jake grabbed her hands and pinned her to the ground.

"Ya gotta learn I'm bigger and stronger than you, Brat," Jake told her, his face inches from hers.

Sam tried to break free, but couldn't.

"You're just fatter," Sam sassed him.

"Did you call me fat?" Jake asked. He started tickling her and Sam's peal of laughter rang out as she struggled to get away.

"Stop it," she screamed as she laughed.

"Never," Jake continued to torment her.

Sam was laughing so hard she was almost choking.

"Stop!"

"Say it," Jake told her.

"Uncle," Sam yelled as loud as she could.

Jake let her up and the two of them were laughing as they sat up.

"You're a brat," Sam told him.

"I taught you to ride bareback," Jake reminded her.

Sam thought about that for a second.

"Yeah, okay," she nodded.

Jake gave her a smirk.

"You're still a brat," Sam challenged, scrambling to her feet and running before he could tickle her again.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The summer passed too quickly for Sam. She got better at riding bareback with Jake's help. He would come over almost every day to help her until she was finally able to ride George bareback and out of the river. She didn't go far while bareback, but she was doing it. Dad and Gram were both worried, but told her they were proud of her.

Dad had watched one of her sessions with Jake and left with a thoughtful look on his face. He realized that Jake was just six years old but his way with horses was uncanny. Dad couldn't wait to see how Jake developed as a horseman, but thought maybe he might end up being the best horseman he had ever seen.

One day she and Jake were riding out to the lake on War Drum Flats when Sam noticed that Jake was looking down a lot. She looked down but didn't see why he would be.

"What are you lookin' at?" Sam asked.

"Tracks," Jake answered.

"Of what?" Sam wondered.

"Lots of things," Jake told her.

"I don't see nothing," Sam looked down again.

Jake's face got smug.

"You're lying," Sam sniffed with distain. "You're trying to trick me again."

His tomcat grin just got more pronounced.

"Show me something then," Sam dared.

"I can't show you if you're blind," Jake gave it back to her.

"I'm not blind," Sam told him.

"You are if you can't see nothing," Jake responded.

"Why can you see something?" Sam asked.

"Because I'm Indian and I pay attention," Jake said.

Sam rolled her eyes.

"It's true," Jake insisted. "I tracked Grandfather for miles last week."

"Really?" Sam looked hesitant to believe him.

"Ask my brothers," Jake dared her. "They were with me."

"I will the next time I see them," Sam assured him. She looked at him then out of the corner of her eyes.

Jake saw it.

"What?"

"What's school like?" Sam asked.

"You scared?" Jake teased.

"No," Sam spat out, though she was.

"You're teacher is pretty nice," Jake told her.

Sam looked up at him.

"She was my kindergarten teacher too," Jake said. "Quinn's and Bryan's, Nate's and Adam's too."

"I won't know anyone," Sam fretted.

"None of us did," Jake shrugged.

"You had your brothers," Sam said.

"So do you," Jake made a point to meet her eyes.

Sam did a double take and then nodded.

"You'll make friends," Jake predicted.

"Plus you'll be there too," Sam gushed.

Jake frowned as he turned away. He wasn't sure he wanted her tagging along with him while at school. Teasing from Darrell flashed through his mind.

"Let's let them run, huh?" Jake eased off on Duke's reins and the sorrel started to lope.

Sam urged George after them. It wasn't long before they reached War Drum Flats. Jake let Duke wander into the lake to drink and Sam followed him on George.

"You are a tagalong," Jake teased.

"Am not," Sam huffed. "My horse wants water." She shrugged.

"We should go swimming here next summer," Jake said.

"Why?" Sam wondered. "We have the river."

"Just some place different," Jake shrugged. He lifted his head and looked towards the foothills.

"There are some horses," Jake told her.

"Where?" Sam started looking.

"You're gonna scare them," Jake chastised her. "Turn your head real slow and look towards that ridge."

"What ridge?"

"Will you just look?" Jake's patience was running out.

Sam looked at him, then looked towards where he was looking. She squinted her eyes against the glare of the sun on the water. Was that one there?

"See the gray?" Jake was almost whispering.

"I see a white one," Sam said.

"It's gray," Jake corrected her.

"Looks white to me," Sam insisted.

"Whatever," Jake rolled his eyes wondering why exactly he hung around with her. "That's the stallion."

"The what?" Sam kept her eyes on the horse.

"Stallion. Stud. Herd leader," Jake said. He saw the bewildered look on her face. "Boy horse." He shook his head at her ignorance.

"Like George and Duke," Sam smiled.

"No, they're geldings," Jake told her.

"What?" Sam looked at him then and could have sworn he grimaced.

"Doesn't matter," Jake shook his head, hoping she wouldn't ask him anymore.

Sam shrugged and looked back at the horses, but they were running back towards the foothills and into the mountains.

"I wish I had a wild horse," Sam murmured.

"You _are_ a wild horse," Jake teased and Sam hit him as he laughed.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Sam looked out the window as Gram drove her to the bus stop. Today was her first day of school. She was dressed in a skirt and a sweater. She clutched her pink _My Little Pony_ backpack that contained pencils, paper and her lunch. She was nervous.

"You'll meet lots of little girls your own age," Gram was telling her.

"Jake will be there too," Sam murmured.

Gram gave her a look. "Jake's your friend, but you can make other friends too."

Sam didn't comment. Jake was her _best_ friend.

As they approached the bus stop, Sam could see Jake, Bryan, Quinn, Nate and Adam already there. She perked up a bit and Gram couldn't help but notice.

She pulled to a stop and hugged Sam for a moment.

"Have a good day, Samantha," Gram gave her cheek a kiss. "Mind your teachers and eat your lunch."

"Yes, Gram," Sam murmured, her eyes already on the Ely boys.

Gram sighed as Sam got out of the Buick and made her way to where the Elys were standing.

"Who's this all dressed up?" Adam teased, grinning as Sam ran up.

"Woo, those shoes are so shiny I need sunglasses," Quinn joked.

Sam turned and waved when Gram tooted her horn before driving off.

"Cute backpack, Sammy," Nate pretended to admire it.

"Well now we now what to get Nate for his birthday," Quinn laughed.

The other three Ely brothers snorted.

"Excited, Sammy?" Bryan asked.

Jake could tell she was more scared than excited, though she nodded at Bryan.

They could hear the bus in the distance and Jake and his brothers picked up their own backpacks and slung them over their shoulders. Sam stood behind them.

She stumbled trying to reach the first step of the bus.

"Oh!" Sam yelped, starting to fall to her knees.

Adam heard her and turned, grabbing her arm and keeping her on her feet. Bryan, Quinn, Nate and Jake turned at the commotion and saw Adam lift her to the first step. Jake rolled his eyes. Only Samantha.

She jumped up the next two steps and started down the bus aisle but stopped, startled when the bus driver gripped her arm.

"First year?" she asked Sam.

Sam nodded, afraid.

"First years have to sit in the first couple of rows so I can keep an eye on them," the bus driver told her.

Sam looked to where the Elys were sitting, then back at the bus driver who was pointing to the seat nearest the door. With a sigh, Sam sat down on the indicated seat. She really wanted to sit with the Elys.

Quinn stuck his fingers in his ears and stuck his tongue out at her, giving her the raspberries. Sam stuck her tongue out at him. She heard the five of them chuckling.

"None of that," the bus driver told her. Sam looked up to see the driver watching her in the big mirror. She sighed and slumped in her seat.

As they made the various stops, there were a few more first years made to sit in the front seats. Sam looked at them and one little boy actually smiled back at her. She returned the smile tentatively.

"Hey Jakey, someone's stealing your girlfriend," Bryan nudged his little brother.

"What?" Jake looked at him, then looked to where he was pointing.

He saw Sam and the other little boy smile at each other.

"Oh shut up," Jake grumbled, ignoring his annoying brothers as they teased him.

"You better hurry up and put a ring on her finger, little man," Nate laughed.

Still Jake ignored them, looking out the window.

"Look!" Quinn exclaimed. "They're kissing."

Jake's head whipped around to look, causing his brothers to laugh harder. He frowned. Sam and the other boy weren't kissing. They weren't even looking at each other. He had fallen for Quinn's trick. He was in for it now.

Sam turned around, hearing the burst of laughter from the back of the bus. She knew those laughs. Nate, Adam, Quinn and Bryan were laughing at something. Jake was not. Sam would have bet that Jake was the butt of whatever joke they were all laughing at.

She tried to catch Jake's eyes, but he wouldn't look at her. He stared out the window.

Eventually they pulled into the school and the driver let the first years off first. Sam stood by herself on the sidewalk, reluctant to go into the school.

"Hey Sammy," Bryan put his arm around her. "Who's your new boyfriend?"

"What?" Sam looked up at him in confusion.

"Stop," Jake grumbled as he walked past. Bryan just grinned at his little brother.

"Do you know where you're going, Sammy?" Quinn asked.

Sam shook her head.

"Come on," Quinn strode forward and Sam hurried after him. Bryan was behind her.

They walked past Jake who had stopped inside the door to talk to another boy. Sam looked at them both as she walked by. Jake ignored her.

"Who's the little girl with your brothers?" Darrell asked, watching her.

"Neighbor kid," Jake murmured, stealing a look at Samantha following Quinn. She looked so small trailing after his brother and with Bryan walking behind.

"Not like them to pay attention to a kindergartner," Darrell commented.

Jake just shrugged and headed for their second grade classroom.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Sam happened to end up sharing a table with the boy from the school bus.

They kinda smiled at each other as they had on the bus. She found out his name was Scott and he thought her name Sam was kinda neat.

"I've never met a girl named Sam before," he told her.

"My real name is Samantha," Sam responded.

"Oh," Scott murmured.

The teacher called for attention and introduced herself. Her name was Mrs. Williams and she would be their teacher all year. Sam thought she looked like a nice lady.

Mrs. Williams passed out paper and pencils to all the class. Sam didn't mention that Gram had made sure that she had some in her backpack. The teacher then started writing letters on the big board in front of the room and told the students to copy.

Sam knew how to write pretty well already, but did what the teacher asked. Carefully and neatly she made her letters as the teacher wrote them on the board.

"Can anyone say their ABCs?" the teacher asked.

Sam raised her hand along with some of the other students.

"Go ahead," Mrs. Williams pointed at Sam.

Sam blushed but recited the alphabet correctly.

"Very good, Samantha," Mrs. Williams praised her.

Sam couldn't help the smile on her face.

"Now, can you recognize letters?" Mrs. Williams asked.

Sam sat deeper in her chair, slouching a bit. She knew some letters but not all of them and didn't want Mrs. Williams calling on her.

Mrs. Williams pointed to a letter and asked the class to tell her what it was. She nodded when the class was right. Sam sat up straighter in her chair and paid attention. She was surprised when she knew more than she thought she did.

After about thirty minutes, Mrs. Williams let the kids wander around and play a bit. Sam went to where there were some puzzles on a table and sat down to put them together. Another little girl came and watched. Sam looked up at her and the girl smiled.

"I'm Ann," the little girl said.

"I'm Sam," Sam answered her.

"Can I do one?" Ann asked.

Sam nodded and Ann sat across from Sam and the two girls did the puzzles. Once they put the puzzle in front of them together, they switched and did the other.

Sam was enjoying school so far and was happy to have made two new friends. When it was time for lunch, Sam took her pink backpack and followed everyone from her class down to the lunch room.

Gram had given Sam some money for milk. Sam stood in line and debated whether to get chocolate or white milk. Sam decided to get the chocolate milk and held out her hand with her change in it and the lunchroom attendant smiled at her and took the correct change from her.

Sam looked around the room and was overwhelmed. She didn't see anyone she knew. Of course, she didn't know very many people anyway. She decided to just sit at the first table she came to and slid onto the bench, putting her pink _My Little Pony_ backpack on the table.

Just as she was unzipping it to take out her lunch, someone grabbed her pink backpack from her. Thinking it was Jake or one of his brothers, she laughed and turned around. Her laughter faded as the boy holding her backpack was a stranger and glowering at her.

"This is our table, baby," he told her.

"I'm not a baby," Sam responded.

"Only baby's have pony backpacks," he laughed. He didn't laugh like Jake or his brothers. His laugh sounded mean.

"Give it back," Sam stood up, jumping for her backpack.

"Baby," he tossed it to another boy, who held it above his head. The first boy pushed Sam and she almost fell.

"Give me my backpack," Sam was beginning to cry which only made them laugh harder and call her a baby more.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Jake was sitting at a table with Darrell and some other friends, when he heard the commotion across the lunch room. He lifted his head when he thought he heard Sam's voice.

He stood up surprising Darrell.

"What's going on?" Darrell looked up at Jake.

Jake didn't answer, he started towards the ruckus. He didn't realize it but Quinn, Bryan, Nate and Adam had seen him stand up and the anger on his face as he looked at what was going on. They scrambled up and followed him, seeing the older boys bullying Sam.

"Leave her alone," Jake told the older boys. Sam turned her tear streaked face towards Jake. Jake glanced briefly at her, seeing her tears which made him even madder.

"What's it to you?" the boy who had first taken Sam's backpack said. "She dared to sit at our table."

"She's a kindergartner," Jake said. "She didn't know any better."

"Like I said, what's it to you?" the boy asked again.

"Give it back to her," Jake warned them, taking in with a glance all the other boys. He saw the eyes widen on a few of them a second before he felt the presences behind him. He knew without even turning around that his brothers were there.

"She's our sister," Nate told the group of boys.

"You don't have a sister, Ely," the leader scoffed.

"Yes we do and you're messing with her," Adam's voice was low but it made Sam shiver. There wasn't a hint of the teasing or humor that normally was on Adam's face.

"Give it back to her," Jake told them again.

The leader took in the determined looks on the Ely brothers' faces and handed the backpack to Sam who clutched it to her chest.

"She's still at our table," the leader said.

"I don't see your name on it," Quinn responded. "Sit down Sammy. Eat your lunch."

Sam looked questioningly at Jake who gave her a curt nod. She slipped back onto the bench. Bryan sat down next to her. Quinn sat across from her and Nate sat next to Quinn.

The group of boys who had stole her backpack backed away from the table and went to sit elsewhere.

"First day and already causing trouble, huh Brat?" Jake chuckled.

"It wasn't my fault," Sam protested.

Jake shook his head, his mouth twitching as he headed back to the table where his friends were still sitting and gaping at him over what had just gone on.

"What happened?" Darrell asked. "I thought she was just a neighbor kid."

"She is," Jake responded.

"I thought you were going to take on all those fifth graders yourself," Darrell said.

Jake just shrugged, making Darrell gaze towards where Sam was sitting with Jake's older brothers. It was unlike all of them to pay any attention to a little girl, especially a kindergartner.

"Is he mad?" Sam asked, looking up at Bryan.

"Nah," Bryan shook his head. "I think he was just worried about getting in trouble for fighting again."

"I'm sorry," Sam looked like she was going to cry again.

"Don't worry about it, Sammy," Nate told her. "Nobody messes with our family."

"Even if they do carry a butt ugly pink backpack," Quinn teased, causing Bryan and Nate to start laughing. Sam hit him.

Jake was watching across the room and he couldn't help the smile as Sam hit Quinn. Darrell saw it, totally intrigued with what was going on with Jake.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"How was your first day of school?" Dad asked that night at dinner.

Sam thought about what had happened at lunch and she frowned.

"Now it couldn't be that bad," Gram said.

"Some boys took my backpack," Sam told them.

"What?" Dad put down his fork.

"What happened, Samantha?" Gram asked.

Sam told them everything that happened and how Jake and his brothers had come to her rescue.

"'Lands," Gram shook her head. "Where were the lunchroom attendants?"

"Thank goodness Jake was there," Wyatt murmured, catching his mother's eye.

Gram nodded in agreement.

After dinner, they sent Sam up to her room to do her homework which consisted of writing her name to hand in the next day.

"Do you get the feeling that Sam and Jake…," Dad's voice trailed off.

"Wyatt, they're five and almost seven years old," Gram cautioned him. "There's a lot of time to worry about what might happen years from now. I for one wouldn't mind if the two of them became more than friends one day."

Wyatt blanched. "You're right, they're just kids. No sense in worrying about something that might not ever happen."

Gram gave him a look.

"They might not even be friends twenty years from now," Wyatt said.

_No, they might be married_, Gram thought to herself. _To each other_.

"Time will tell," is all that Gram said, taking a sip of coffee.

Sam settled into school. She liked Ann and they became friends. Ann's parents owned a ranch just outside of Darton called the Happy Heart Ranch. Ann liked horses as much as Sam did and they talked about them all the time.

When Jake's birthday rolled around, Mrs. Ely once again invited Sam to come over. This time Gram knew ahead of time and took Sam shopping to buy Jake a gift.

Sam found a lot of things she'd like to have, but she was sure Jake wasn't interested in plastic play horses or stuffed animals. She wandered up and down the aisles, looking for something she thought he would like.

Finally, she stopped in front of a radio controlled car and pointed at it. Gram looked at the price, seeing it was on sale and nodded. Sam carried it up to the checkout and Gram promised to wrap it up for her to take to Jake. Sam was so excited. She bet he wouldn't make fun of her gift this year.

The day of Jake's birthday, Sam met them at the bus stop as she did every school day. She had her pink _My Little Pony_ backpack slung over her shoulder.

"If you want to hang with us Sammy, you have to lose that wussy backpack," Quinn teased her.

"You just want it for yourself," Nate told him.

Quinn hit him. Nate hit him back and Adam stepped in between them before they got out of control.

"Happy birthday," Sam said to Jake.

"Thanks, Brat," Jake responded.

"Mom says she'll pick you up on her way home, Sammy," Bryan said.

Sam nodded.

"Did you wrap your carrots again, Sammy?" Adam joked.

"No," Sam shook her head. "No carrots."

"Radishes?" Quinn asked, causing the other four brothers to snort.

"No," Sam put her hands on her hips. "It's not food."

"No food?" Nate asked.

Sam shook her head.

They could hear the bus coming and the boys picked up their backpacks.

"I got it," Quinn said. The others looked at him. "Underwear."

Bryan, Nate and Adam burst out laughing. Sam blushed and shook her head. Jake gave Quinn a disgusted look.

"Those ones with Batman on them," Adam choked out as he laughed.

"No, no, Barbie," Bryan said which made Nate, Adam and Quinn almost fall over with laughter.

Jake was never so thankful as to see the bus. He jumped on when it stopped and opened the door. Nate picked up Sam so she could get on the first step and Sam followed Jake, sitting in the first seat while he went to the back. Nate, Bryan, Quinn and Adam followed Jake to the back.

The bus continued on its route, picking up students along the way. Sam could tell by the laughter coming from the back that his brothers were still teasing Jake. She turned in her seat to see him looking out the window, doing his best to ignore them.

He felt her eyes on him and he glanced at her briefly. She felt bad for him to be teased on his birthday like that.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

"Wow, this is cool," Jake said when he unwrapped Sam's present at his birthday party.

"Let's see it Jakey," Kit said. Sam once again was startled at Kit's voice. He would be fifteen in February and his voice had changed, deepened into the voice of a man. It had fluctuated up and down since he was thirteen to finally settle in its now deep tone. Sam wasn't used to it.

Plus Kit had really shot up in height. He was so much taller than the other boys, even Adam at twelve was a good five inches shorter than Kit. Adam's voice was doing the up and down thing now and it embarrassed him at times when it would squeak.

Jake handed Kit the box and Kit looked it over.

"Beats Barbie underwear," Bryan quipped, making Quinn, Nate and Adam snort. Kit looked lost as did everyone else. Jake gave his brothers dirty looks.

Kit handed the box back.

"We can see how it goes after the football game," Kit suggested.

"Okay," Jake nodded.

"You're going to be our center again, right Sam?" Kit looked towards her. She blushed but nodded.

She didn't see much of Kit anymore since he was now in high school. He was a member of the rodeo team and wanted to go on the professional rodeo after he graduated from school. Jake had told Sam that his mother wasn't too keen on that idea.

Jake had told Sam that Kit had a girlfriend and that Jake had seen them kissing. Kissing with their tongues, which had grossed out both Jake and Sam.

"Yuck," Sam had shuddered.

"I don't get it either," Jake shook his head. "They didn't know I was there."

"Why would they do that?" Sam asked.

"You're asking me?" Jake had yelped. "No way I'd ever do that with a girl."

Sam had put her hands on her hips.

"Kissing a boy like that wouldn't be much better," she told him.

"You know what I meant," Jake had made a settle down motion with his hands.

Looking at Kit now, Sam couldn't imagine him doing that with a girl. Why would he want to?

Sam looked away from Kit to see that Jake was looking at her. She pretended to put her finger down her throat and Jake snorted. Sam bit back a giggle knowing the two of them were thinking the same thing.

"What do you say, Jake?" Mrs. Ely prompted her son.

"Thanks, Brat," Jake dutifully recited.

Later after he had opened all his gifts and they had eaten his cake, the boys and Sam went out to the pasture to play football. This year Jake wasn't grounded and was able to play too. Sam had played football with some of the boys since then, but not with Kit.

Once again, Kit and Nate teamed up and Jake was with them. Adam had Quinn and Bryan. Kit handed Sam the football and she waited while he and Adam did rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the ball first. Kit lost so Sam walked over towards Adam and bent over with the football so she could hike it back to him.

Adam met Kit's eyes for an instant and the two exchanged amused looks. Jake saw and wondered at it, but then Adam was starting the game and Jake had to run to try and cover Quinn.

Jake was able to bat the ball away before Quinn could catch it. Kit and Nate gave Jake a couple of high fives when he came back.

"Lucky birthday boy," Quinn grumbled.

Jake gave him a smirk.

Sam got ready to hike the ball again. This time Bryan was able to outrun Nate and score a touchdown. He danced at the goal. Kit, Nate and Jake hooted at him and called him names. Bryan gave it right back to them, trash talking at them as he flipped the ball at Sam. The ball hit her in the face.

"Careful Bry," Kit told him. "You don't want to injure the center. Are you okay, Sammy?"

Sam nodded.

"She's tough," Quinn said with a grin. "She carries a pink backpack."

"She has to be tough to carry that wussy thing," Bryan laughed with his twin.

Sam stuck her tongue out at them and they just laughed harder.

"Yeah, I heard about that," Kit laughed and Sam gave him a look too.

"Look out, she's getting mad," Adam told him.

"She hits, remember," Jake teased.

Sam ignored them all. She'd learned that if you ignored them, they left her alone sooner. It was hard being the only girl around them sometimes. However, she loved them all as if they were her real brothers.

"Okay, let's keep going," Adam shouted. "Score seven to zip."

"Zippo, nada, zilch," Quinn laughed.

"We haven't had the ball yet, Einstein," Nate told his younger brother.

"Maybe but it's still seven to zip," Bryan pointed out.

That got the five older brothers trash talking. Jake was the only one who didn't join in, though his mouth was curved into a grin.

Sam hiked the ball to Adam again and Jake took off after Bryan this time. Kit rushed Adam and tackled him before he could either run or throw the football. This time it was Kit, Nate and Jake who were high fiving each other.

When it was time for Kit's team to have the ball, Sam turned around and hiked the ball to Kit. He threw the ball far down the pasture and Nate grabbed it out of mid-air in front of Bryan. Nate ran to their goal and put on his own dancing expedition.

Quinn and Bryan called him names as he came back from scoring his touchdown and handed the ball to Sam.

"Watch your mouths around the shrimp," Kit warned him.

"Oh, she's used to it," Bryan laughed. "Right, Sammy?"

"Gram would wash your mouth out with soap if she heard," Sam told him.

That got all six of the Ely boys laughing. They knew she was right.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

After they were done playing football, Jake went into the house and got the car that Sam had gotten him for his birthday. The boys had a blast driving it all over the ranch yard. Sam smiled, happy that Jake liked his present. He hadn't teased her once like he had when she had brought him carrots for his pony last year.

They took turns driving the car around the ranch yard. Quinn chased Sam with the car and she was laughing as she tried to get out of the way. She ran all over the yard with the car right behind her while all six Elys laughed.

"Quinn quit chasing that poor girl with that car," Maxine yelled at him from the porch.

"Aw Mom," Quinn whined, but he turned the car away from Sam. "You take all the fun out of my life."

Sam swore she heard Mrs. Ely snort before she went back into the house.

"Wanna try it, Brat?" Jake asked.

Sam was hesitant. She hadn't ever played with a toy like it and was afraid of not being able to do it. The other boys were looking encouragingly at her.

"Come on, I'll show you what to do," Jake told her.

Sam went to him and he handed her the controls. Then he stood behind her and put her hands on the controls where they needed to be. With his hands over hers, she started the car moving and was soon laughing with excitement as she steered the car all over the yard.

Jake and Sam didn't notice the looks that Kit and Adam exchanged. Kit raised an eyebrow and Adam raised his in response. Jake stayed there with Sam in front of him, his arms coming around her body, his hands over hers on the controls.

Finally, she brought the car to a stop and smiled up at him. Jake smiled back at her. Kit and Adam glanced at each other, neither able to quite hide their grins.

From the kitchen window, Maxine watched the two of them. Mac, who was at Three Ponies for Jake's birthday, had watched them for a time with her before going back to the family room to talk with his son a bit. Before he had left the window, he had put a hand on Maxine's shoulder.

"You will have your daughter," Mac told her.

Maxine's hand covered Mac's. "I hope so."

Mac had patted her shoulder then.

Maxine had seen the grins on Kit's and Adam's faces and was surprised that neither of them had started teasing Jake about how he was standing with Sam. Maybe the two older boys realized that teasing Jake would only make him self-conscious about his friendship with Sam.

Maxine knew that a lot of things had to happen for Sam and Jake to see their friendship through to adulthood. A friendship was always so fragile. It only took an argument, a new friend or an absence for a friendship to end.

Jake would be out of elementary school in a few years, leaving Sam alone. They wouldn't be at the same school again until high school. A lot could happen to a friendship during that time.

Maxine sighed, wishing her friend Louise was alive to see how Samantha was doing. Then she thought that Louise was probably watching Sam and pleased.

Maxine turned away from the window, a soft smile on her face.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Winter was brutal that year. Northern Nevada had a lot of snow which made it difficult for Sam to ride George. Dad and Gram didn't want her riding alone since the snow was deep. Plus the cold was more intense than it had been in decades.

Sam hated being confined to the house due to the weather. She rarely saw Jake outside of school.

Even at school the principal cancelled recess because of the cold and the snow. After lunch, he opened the huge gymnasium and the students played in there.

Sam had started eating her lunch with her friend Ann Potter. They talked a lot about their horses and wished they lived closer so they could go riding together.

"Do you ride with anyone now?" Ann asked.

"Jake sometimes," Sam answered.

"Jake?" Ann wondered.

Sam pointed him out across the gym playing basketball with his friends.

"Oh, he's dreamy," Ann murmured, earning a surprised look from Sam.

"Dreamy?" Sam questioned.

"Cute," Ann explained. "Valentine's Day is coming. Maybe I'll give him one."

"Really?" Sam tilted her head at Ann.

"Maybe he'll be my boyfriend if I do," Ann gushed.

Knowing Jake, Sam doubted it.

Gram had already bought her a small box of valentines and Sam had printed her name on a few for Ann, Scott, Quinn, Bryan, Nate, Adam and Jake. Now, she was rethinking this. If she gave one to each of the boys would they think she wanted to be their girlfriend?

Images of Kit kissing a girl with his tongue haunted her brain. Sam shuddered.

"You want Jake for a boyfriend?" Sam asked.

"Sure, he's cute," Ann nodded. "Plus he's a second grader so he's an older man."

Sam didn't get why that was so great, but she didn't say anything.

"Do you maybe want to come over sometime after school?" Ann asked.

"Sure," Sam responded.

"I have lots of dolls we can play with," Ann told her.

Sam didn't have any dolls. She'd rather play with Jingles, some plastic horses that she had or Jake, but she didn't say anything about that either. She'd never played with dolls so maybe she was missing something.

"I'll ask Mommy if you can," Ann continued.

Sam couldn't help the frown. She wasn't jealous that Ann had a Mommy and she didn't, but it still hit her at times that almost everyone else but her did. Even though she felt like Jake's mom was also like a mom to her, she really wasn't her real Mommy and at times like this it made Sam miss her own mother. She didn't remember much about her which made her sad.

A couple of girls in their kindergarten class were jumping rope so Sam and Ann wandered over to watch. The girls invited Sam and Ann to join them. Sam hadn't ever jumped rope either, so she twirled the rope first and watched while the other girls jumped.

Just before recess ended, Sam worked up enough nerve to try jumping the rope. The girls realized that Sam didn't know what to do, so they didn't start twirling the rope until she was standing in the middle.

They slowly started the rope and Sam jumped, missing the first few times. She felt dumb and she blushed. Finally the other girls told her when to jump and Sam started to get the hang of it. Soon she was able to time her jumps so she didn't trip up the rope.

Then she saw Quinn and Bryan standing nearby and watching. Sam became self-conscious and her feet got tangled in the rope causing her to fall right in front of Quinn.

"You don't need to fall at my feet, Sammy," Quinn teased, picking her up and helping her onto her feet. Bryan snorted. Sam hit Quinn which only made him laugh.

"What happened?" Jake was suddenly there.

"Don't worry, Jakey," Quinn joked. "I didn't hurt your girlfriend. She took one look at me and fell at my feet."

Sam blushed as the other girls were now looking at her wondering at stupid Quinn's stupid words if Jake _was_ her boyfriend.

Jake looked at Sam, assessing that she was okay. He rejoined Darrell and his other friends, but then the bell rang for recess to be over.

Sam went to get her backpack that she had left against the wall. Ann trailed after her.

"He's your boyfriend?" Ann was impressed.

"No," Sam shook her head. "Jake's my friend."

"Are you sure?" Ann asked.

"Yes," Sam said.

"So you don't care if I give him a valentine?" Ann wondered.

"No," Sam lied.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Sam stood at the bus stop on Valentine's Day wondering if she should give the Ely boys the ones she had for them. Would they think her stupid and a baby for doing it?

Most of the ones Gram got her just said Happy Valentine's Day without a lot of mushy stuff. Sam would never give a boy a mushy Valentine's Day card.

"How's my favorite girl?" Quinn asked her as she shivered waiting for the bus.

"Okay," Sam told him.

"I bet you have a lot of boys giving you valentines today, Sammy," Bryan said.

Sam shook her head. She was still unsure as to give out the ones she had. Sam decided to wait and see how the day went. Maybe she'd get an opportunity later and it wouldn't look so lame.

Once they were at school, it seemed like everyone was passing out valentines. Sam walked down the hall and saw a couple of girls shove valentines into Bryan's hands. He grinned at Sam who stopped and with a shrug, opened her backpack and handed him the one she had done for him.

"Thanks Sammy," Bryan smiled.

_That wasn't so bad_, Sam thought to herself. Still, giving one to Bryan and even Quinn was a whole lot different than giving one to Jake.

She saw Quinn up head, surrounded by girls and she took his out of her backpack and stuffed it in his hand. He turned around and grinned at her.

In her kindergarten class, Mrs. Williams had everyone make a pouch out of paper so the kids in their class could slip the valentine's in. Sam tucked one in Scott's pouch and then Ann's before finding her seat and sitting down.

Sam was afraid of looking in her pouch, thinking that there probably wouldn't be any in there for her. As Mrs. Williams taught, Sam stole a look at her pouch, but it didn't look like anything was in there.

Wait! Was that part of an envelope poking out? Sam leaned forward a bit to get a better look. It did look like she had one from one of her classmates. Sam sat back in her chair and smiled, wondering who it was from.

Once they broke for lunch, she took a look. She had a few in there and she tucked them away in her pink _My Little Pony_ backpack to look at when she got home.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder without zipping it back up and went down to the lunchroom with her class. Sam got her usual chocolate milk and sat at a table with Ann.

Sam took her sandwich out and started eating. There was a lot of activity as students were still handing out valentines. Sam saw Adam sitting a few tables away with his friends. She still had his valentine in her backpack.

Adam looked up and grinned at her. Sam waved back at him.

"He's cute too," Ann said.

"He's a sixth grader," Sam told her.

"He's still cute," Ann giggled.

When they were through lunch, they had to walk right by Adam so Sam handed him her valentine.

"Thanks Sammy," Adam smiled at her.

Sam heard his friends teasing him, but Adam just laughed. She turned around and smiled at him before going to the gym with Ann.

That left her with Nate's valentine and Jake's. She still wasn't sure if she should give one to Jake. Somehow, he didn't seem like the valentine type.

She saw Nate kicking a soccer ball with his friends so she stopped and handed him his.

"Now I have the perfect valentine," Nate teased with a wink. Sam blushed, ignoring the laughter of Nate's friends.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Jake was playing basketball again but Sam didn't approach him. She saw his blue backpack leaning against the wall and wondered if she should just slip it in there. Could she slip it in there without him seeing? She wondered because Jake always seem so aware of his surroundings.

Sam decided to try. She tried to look nonchalant as she wandered nearer. She kept Jake visible out of the corner of his eye as he played. He seemed pretty intent on the game so she hurried and stuffed the valentine in and got out of there.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Jake following her with his eyes. Sam blushed and ran to join Ann and some of the other girls who were jumping rope again.

Jake watched her, wondering what was going on. He looked back at his backpack.

"Look out Jake," Darrell yelled a second before the basketball hit Jake in the face.

Jake flinched as the ball hit him, his hand coming up to his eye as he bent over in pain.

Sam had heard the yell and watched as Jake was hit with the ball. He reacted immediately in pain. She groaned to herself. She was the cause of Jake getting hurt. She went closer to see how he was.

"What happened, Jake?" Adam was asking him.

"Got hit with the ball," Jake still had his hand over his eye.

"Let's see it," Adam urged. He looked up to see one of the teachers coming towards them.

Jake took his hand away from his eye and Sam gasped. It was watering profusely and already swelling shut.

"Wow," Adam murmured. "You're going to have a heck of a shiner, little man."

Jake just nodded and cupped his hand back over his eye.

Sam felt guilty. It was her fault that Jake was hurt! If she hadn't snuck that valentine into his backpack he wouldn't have lost concentration on his game and gotten hit.

She felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm fine," she heard Jake's low voice nearby.

She glanced up at him through her tears to see him looking at her. Sam shook her head.

"What happened, Jake?" the teacher asked.

"Got hit," Jake shrugged.

"Who hit you?" the teacher wanted to know.

"Basketball," Jake shrugged again. "It's not a big deal."

"Take your hand away," the teacher said and shook his head when he saw Jake's eye. "Sorry, you need to be seen by the nurse."

"Aw, man," Sam heard Jake whine under his breath.

"Grab your things and let's go," the teacher commanded him. Jake walked over and grabbed his backpack and followed the teacher out of the gym.

"Why are you crying, Sammy?" Nate asked. Sam jumped a bit, not knowing he was there.

"It's my fault," Sam told him.

"How is it your fault?" Nate wondered. "You didn't throw the ball at him."

"I snuck a valentine into his backpack and he saw me, then he got hit," Sam confessed.

Nate grinned at her. "Well, it will be a memorable valentine for him won't it?"


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

Sam turned in her seat on the bus to look back at Jake. He glanced at her with the one eye that was working properly.

She had looked closely at him as they stood waiting to get on the bus for the ride home. His eye was completely swollen shut.

"How bad is it?" Quinn had asked him.

Jake shrugged. "They couldn't get it open."

Sam flinched.

"It's all right, Brat," Jake assured her.

Sam gave him a look.

"I'll live," Jake tried to tease her.

"Mom's gonna throw a fit," Bryan predicted.

Sam groaned. Maybe she should call Mrs. Ely and take the blame.

"Next time duck, little man," Quinn joked.

Jake rolled his good eye at him.

"Here's our bus," Adam pointed and picked his backpack off the ground.

"What happened to you?" the bus driver asked Jake.

"She hit him," Quinn nodded at Sam who he helped up the stairs.

The bus driver looked at Sam, then at Jake who was walking towards the back of the buss.

"No I didn't," Sam insisted. It was her fault, but she hadn't hit him.

She sat across from the bus driver in her usual seat.

"You must have a heck of a right cross," the bus driver teased. Sam had no idea what that was.

Now as Sam looked at Jake, he kept his good eye on her. She knew he didn't blame her, but she couldn't convince herself that she wasn't at fault.

Jake could see it in her face. He felt badly that she felt that way.

When he was waiting for the nurse to look at him, he had looked in his backpack to see what Sam had slipped in there. Jake was surprised to see a small envelope. He didn't open it and wouldn't until he was alone, but he would guess it contained a valentine.

Jake didn't get her one or anyone else for that matter. He had received a few, but not from anyone he really cared about. He did care about Samantha. She was one of his best friends, though he rarely admitted it to anyone else.

He wasn't sure what to do about her getting him a valentine. Jake knew she had done it simply because he was her friend. He knew that she had given one to his brothers also. Should he apologize for not getting her one? He was inclined not to, but he hated to also hurt her feelings.

Jake broke eye contact. What he didn't look forward to was explaining to his parents what had happened. He knew Mom would fuss over him and Jake hated to be fussed at.

Sure enough, when Mom got home from teaching that evening, she was upset over his swollen eye and tried to fuss over him. She wanted to take him to the hospital for x-rays even though Jake assured her nothing was broken.

"Maxine, let him be," Dad said, seeing how Jake was reacting to it. "He'll let us know if he needs to go to the hospital."

Maxine gave him a disgusted look. Jake was notorious for not speaking up when something was bothering him. She knew Luke knew that. Men! Sometimes Maxine wanted to swat each and every one of the men she lived with, from the oldest to the youngest, her husband as well as her sons.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

"So how many valentines did you guys get?" Quinn asked later.

"You guys got valentines?" Kit laughed.

"Didn't you?" Nate asked.

"Sure, Amy gave me one," Kit grinned.

"I bet," Adam grinned shaking his head.

"So, how many?" Quinn asked again.

"I got twenty," Adam stated.

"Oh, you did not," Nate argued.

Adam held his up.

"I got seventeen," Nate said.

"Eighteen here," Bryan showed his.

"Jake?"

"What?"

"How many valentines did you get?" Kit wondered.

"A few," Jake murmured.

"A few means what?" Quinn inquired.

"Four," Jake muttered under his breath.

"Four?" Bryan yelped.

Jake knew what was going to happen and sure enough, his brothers started to laugh.

"Well one was from his girlfriend, after all," Adam pointed out.

Jake grimaced.

"Sammy gave you a valentine?" Kit raised an eyebrow.

"I guess so," Jake shrugged. "I haven't looked at any of them yet."

"Why not?" Nate asked.

Jake shrugged.

"He prolly can't read them with one eye," Bryan teased.

Jake rolled his eye at his brother.

"So Quinn, how many did you get?" Adam asked.

"Twenty-five," Quinn announced with a smart aleck grin.

"You are so full of it," Kit made a grab for Quinn's valentines.

"He's a pimp," Adam grumbled.

"He sent most of them to himself," Nate predicted.

"Nope," Quinn shook his head. "The ladies love me."

"The ladies?" Kit gaped. "You're eight years old for crying out loud. You have no idea about ladies, girls, women or whatever you want to call them."

"Oh and you know so much at fifteen," Quinn scoffed.

"I know what to do with them," Kit bragged.

"Amy?" Adam asked.

"Yep," Kit grinned.

"What?" Bryan asked.

"Nothing, little man," Kit told him. "You're too young to understand."

He and Adam left and went into Kit's room and they closed the door.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked.

Bryan shook his head.

"Dunno," Nate murmured.

"How's the eye, Jakey?" Bryan asked.

"It's okay," Jake told him. "It's not a big deal." As long as the eye didn't keep him from riding he really didn't care.

In fact, Jake would endure a lot in order to keep riding. He would bet that he'd ride even with a broken bone if he could. Nothing compared to horses and riding them.

Jake might only be seven years old, but he knew already he wanted to train horses when he was older. There was no doubt in his mind on this.

He talked with his grandfather about training horses on the phone a lot and when Grandfather came to visit, they would go out into the pasture and he would show Jake the nuances of horse behavior. Jake was very observant and could see the way the horses interacted and Grandfather would explain why.

Grandfather had a lot of experience training horses the way Native Americans had for centuries. Jake ate up this knowledge as if it were his life's blood. He guessed in a way it was, since Jake knew at this young age that horses were in his blood.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

Winter finally broke on the high desert. It seemed like everyone and everything took a sigh of relief when the snow started to melt and the temperatures warmed up during the day.

Sam started riding George again away from the house. Jake came over after school and he'd take her out for a ride. He would help instruct her on her riding, teaching her and showing her what she should be doing.

A lot of the time, they would just ride in silence, Jake staring at the ground tracking something. Sam never saw anything, but he'd whisper that there was a deer in the sagebrush and point, then the next minute the deer would jump out and run off. Sam was amazed.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

Jake shrugged. "Grandfather says it's in our heritage."

"Whatever that means," Sam responded.

"I'm not sure either," Jake confessed. "I think it means that some Indians can do it." He shrugged again.

"So if I get lost, you'd come find me?" Sam asked. She was instantly sorry she had.

"Nah," Jake teased, his tomcat grin on his face. "I'd let the coyotes get ya."

"They don't eat people," Sam scoffed.

"Sure they do," Jake told her. "Especially when they're a shrimp like you."

Sam didn't like that little bit of news. She looked around, almost as if she expected a coyote to jump out of the trees and grab her and eat her.

"Look," Jake got her attention away from worrying about coyotes. He pulled in Duke and pointed towards the scrub trees.

Sam stopped George and instantly looked towards where he was pointing. She saw the wild horse herd. The gray stallion was watching them as closely as they were watching him.

"That's the Phantom," Jake told her.

"The Phan…," Sam looked up at him.

"Phan-tom," Jake pronounced it for her. "Grandfather says there has been a gray stallion out here for a long time."

"He's old," Sam looked at the stallion.

"It's not all the same one, Brat," Jake rolled his eyes.

"Oh," Sam felt dumb. Sometimes Jake made her feel like an idiot and he tried to sound so superior.

"They're all related though," Jake gave in a little.

Sometimes he just had to prove to her that he knew more than she did, but then she'd pout or cry and he always felt badly afterwards. He wasn't sure why.

Suddenly stallion turned away from looking at them and gave a challenging neigh. Jake and Sam looked towards where he was looking and saw another horse approaching.

"I bet that's another stud horse," Jake murmured.

"What's that?"

"Another boy," Jake was too intent on the other horse to roll his eyes like he normally would. "Let's get closer." Jake swung down from Duke and held George's bridle while Sam dismounted.

"Be quiet now," Jake warned her as they crept forward.

Sam tripped over a sage root and would have fallen if Jake hadn't caught her. He shook his head both in amusement and disgust at her before they started forward again.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

Finally, Jake pushed her down onto the ground and they crawled forward a bit more to watch. The gray stallion screamed a challenge at the bay. The bay answered the challenge. One of the horses in the gray's herd, a red dun, started biting some of the other horses in the gray's herd, keeping them back.

"She's the lead mare," Jake whispered.

"Isn't the boy horse the boss?" Sam whispered back.

"No," Jake shook his head. "The lead mare is the one who really runs the herd. The stallion breeds and keeps the rest safe."

"Breeds?" Sam asked, looking up at him.

"Makes baby horses," Jake explained, his eyes not leaving the horses in front of him.

"Oh," Sam nodded in understanding and turned back to watch.

The bay approached very nonchalantly. The gray struck out with a foreleg.

"The gray stud's not buying that the bay doesn't want trouble," Jake was almost narrating what was going on.

The gray's neck bowed until his head bumped his chest as he came forward, snorting towards the bay. The bay half reared and snorted back.

"The bay just challenged the gray," Jake told her.

Sure enough the gray squealed and ran towards the bay who turned and ran the other way, the gray following.

"He chickened out," Sam said.

"Nope, watch," Jake shook his head.

The bay circled around, running through the band of mares. He nipped at the rump of two of them, trying to get them away from the main herd.

"See, it was all an act," Jake said.

The gray stallion pursued the bay and the two mares that he had stolen. He put on a burst of speed and snaked out his neck, reaching over and biting the neck of the bay. Then he bumped the bay to turn him, getting between the bay and the mares.

The mares turned and started running back to the safety of the herd. The bay tried to follow but the gray cut him off. The bay reared, then when the gray reared with him, the bay tried to knock the gray off balance.

Instead, it was the bay who lurched off balance and the gray swept his head against the bay, knocking the bay to his knees. Sam winced as the bay squealed in pain.

"It should be over in a minute," Jake told her.

The gray's front legs stomped on the bay's back as the gray stallion came down. The bay threw up his head in pain as the gray snapped at the bay's neck, opening a wound in the process.

Sam turned away putting her head on Jake's shoulder as she did. Jake continued to watch the two stallions fighting. He knew how softhearted Sam was, but for once he didn't tease her about it. To him, this was better than TV and it really helped him to understand horses and the herd mentality.

The gray backed off slightly, allowing the bay to admit defeat and get away if he chose. The bay scrambled to his feet.

"He's up," Jake said to Sam and she turned back around to watch.

The gray stallion snapped once more at the bay who turned tail and ran off. The gray chased him, nipping at his flanks until the gray stopped and screamed another challenge.

"He's rubbin' it in," Jake grinned.

"Do they ever kill each other?" Sam asked.

"Sure, but not often," Jake told her. "Grandfather says that the stallion doesn't do more than he has to because if he gets hurt, he can be challenged and he'll lose his mares."

"Your grandfather knows a lot about horses, huh?" Sam murmured.

Jake nodded eagerly. Sam looked at him. This was about as animated as she'd ever seen Jake.

Thinking about it though, he always seemed more open when he talked about horses. When he was teaching her how to ride bareback, when they rode and now.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked suddenly.

"A cowboy," Jake answered immediately. "I want a ranch and work with horses."

Looking at him now with his black Stetson down low on his face, Sam could picture it.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

It was the last day of school and Sam was looking forward to summer. Her sixth birthday was in a few days too. She would miss her friend Ann over the summer, but the two girls promised to be friends forever. Scott's family was moving to Las Vegas so Sam cried when she realized she'd not see him ever again.

She was still sniffling when she joined the Ely brothers as they waited for their bus.

"Bye Sam," Scott waved as he ran towards his mother's car.

"Bye Scott," Sam waved and watched as the car drove away.

"Is that your boyfriend, Sammy?" Bryan asked.

"No," Sam shook her head. "That's my friend Scott."

The Elys exchanged amused glances.

"He's a boy and a friend," Nate said with a grin.

Sam tilted her head, trying to remember where she had heard that before. Oh yeah! Dad had said that when he had learned she was friends with Jake. Her gaze moved to Jake who was still watching where Scott's car had disappeared. Then his eyes slid to hers before he looked away again.

"He's moving away," Sam frowned.

"Long distance relationships never last at that age," Adam teased.

"What's that?" Sam wondered.

"I keep forgetting you're only five," Adam laughed.

"I'm almost six," Sam reminded him.

"Oh you're an old lady," Quinn kidded her.

"I'm almost as old as you," Sam said sticking her tongue out at him. He and Bryan had turned nine a month before.

"We'll always be older than you, Sammy," Bryan joshed.

"Everyone is older than she is," Jake said.

"Coming from the seven year old," Nate laughed.

"I'm almost as old as you," Sam pointed out to Jake.

"Only until October," Jake said, his smug tomcat grin on his face. "Then I'll be two years older again."

Their bus arrived and Adam moved to help Sam up, but she was able to get up on her own. He smiled down at her.

"You're growing," he said.

Sam started to sit in the seat across from the bus driver.

"Last day of school, you can sit anywhere," the driver smiled at her. "Next year it will be someone else having to sit there."

Sam bounced out of her seat and ran down the aisle towards Jake and his brothers. Bryan, Quinn, Nate and Adam were smiling at her as she ran, Jake groaned. She plopped down in the seat next to him and he heard his brothers teasing him under their breaths.

Jake gave Sam a disgusted look and Sam was surprised. She turned away quickly before he could see the tears in her eyes.

Jake sighed a long-suffering sigh. He had seen her tears and hated it when she cried. Why did she have to be so happy when she was around him? Sometimes she was like a devoted puppy, a tagalong.

He looked out the bus window, not saying anything. His brothers were roughhousing and being rowdy, as usual. Jake was looking forward to the summer and riding his horse.

The cattle drive was in a few weeks and he couldn't wait for that either. He loved the two weeks spent riding ten hours a day in the saddle. He wished he could do it all the time.

He was also looking forward to the annual camping trip his family went on. Jake loved sleeping out on the range, catching their meals, studying nature and practicing his tracking.

Jake supposed he was different than most kids his age. He'd die if he had to spend his days in the house playing video games or sitting at a computer. His classmates all did these sorts of things, even Darrell. Jake just didn't understand, just as they didn't understand his need to be outdoors.

Grandfather called him a throwback. Jake wasn't sure what that meant, but Grandfather always smiled when he said it.

The bus dropped them off at their stop and Jake, his brothers and Sam got off. He saw Sam's pink _My Little Pony_ backpack and his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin. She was his friend even if she was a girl and a tagalong.

"Bye Sammy, see you on roundup," Adam called to her as she started for home.

Sam turned to wave, catching Jake's eye. Jake lifted a hand to her, a small smile on his face as he followed his brothers home.

© 2008 – LB

Characters © Terri Farley


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